The God Blooded Maiden
by Quxxn753951
Summary: Hades and Persephone, Greek gods of the dead, were accused of treachery and are put on Zeus' trial so Gods of The Olympus can decide their fate. Banish them? Forgive them? Nobody knows. What will they do to get themselves out of this embarrassing position? What have they done to deserve such fate? Has it something to do with their lost daughter, Melione? Hades x Persephone
1. The Great Underground Escape

Hello. This is the first story I've written in a while and I hope you enjoy it and are hungry for more after this chapter. In this story, I'll be trying to follow the Greek Myths and Mythology as closely as I can, but there will be some moments where I will "color outside the lines". I am fully aware that there are handful of grammatical errors in my work, please do not get surprised by them, English is not my first language.

Mount Olympus, as it's known by everyone of this generation, is one of the tallest mountains in Europe and the tallest one In Greece. With its magnificence and enormously large body it still covers Greece in light shadow keeping it cool and making sure people will have shelter from hot Mediterranean sun as it always had, eons before any people made themselves present in the fields below it.

It is not only a shelter. It is also a home, a home for many species of exotic plants and animals that are nowhere else to be seen or are yet to be discovered by talented scientists of this generation or maybe even by a kid that just happened to be playing hide and seek with his friends in forests of tall oak trees. But what is so special about that? Every mountain has a large body to shelter nearby inhabitants and their body may even be with more mass and more dignity. Himalayas, the Alps they all look at Olympus from enormous height, they are much bigger, taller and more challenging to climb than Olympus that is why many of alpinists prefer to take on their challenge, leaving Olympus for beginner alpinist and tourists. There are many mountains that have greener flora and more exotic fauna than Olympus', but still it remains unique and special, there will never be or is a mountain that is more special than it.

What exactly attracts people to come and see it, what gave Olympus so much publicity that almost everyone knows its name when you say it. Yes, it is the largest mountain in Greece, but I am sure almost no one knows the largest mountain in Germany, India or maybe even Russia and yet they acknowledge Olympus as one of the most important mountains in history. But the same question keeps popping up, what makes it so special, why is there so much fuzz about it. It's because of its rich and unique history, no other mountain in the world has as many mysteries as this one, for Olympus is the home of Greek gods. Zeus's castle at a very top of a mountain stands there, made out of white marble with enormous pillars made in ionic style. It possesses an overwhelming number of rooms, halls and statues that all show current gods and those before them. In the center of the palace is its largest room, round shaped with an enormous table and 11 chairs that are so big, even gods don't fit them perfectly.

That is a room similar to a board room, where almighty Zeus rallies his brothers, sisters and children to discuss current matters in Greece and world in general. That room is the most decorated one in all of already extremely beautiful castle, it has statues made out of many materials, marble, volcano rocks and some are even made out of ice. They are all equally as realistic no matter what they have for material they have their heart made of. Tablecloth on large yet elegant stone table is created of only the finest silk with lots of ornaments and scenes of Greek people in wars, wrestling, doing sports, but also with them worshiping the gods and dancing to the sound of pan flute. Meetings are arranged once a year ,gods measurements, but for humans that is nearly 930 years, last one was on a year 1069 new era, so now in the year 1999 it is finally time to arrange another meeting of the gods. Zeus walked into the round room, he seemed confident and so young for age of the god, all the other goods looked at him with envy and jealousy, even though they all have one task they need to take care about, it is well known that Zeus can demote or even murder one of them with the lightest touch of his lighting, that is why he was feared and respected by not only mortals but immortal entities as well. Zeus could feel the fear and the sweat dripping from the foreheads of all the gods even his favorite daughter, Athena, and he loved it, he always wanted to be the one to rule everything, he isn't satisfied with being the second best god, the golden throne of Olympus belongs to him and him only, he finally set on his chair that was much bigger and much better decorated than everyone else's, no one complained, or had courage to brave him.

He got his muscular hand on a table and started to tap on the table's surface, that was his way of saying, "You can start talking", his eye was specifically focusing on his brother Hades, god of the Underworld and ruler of the dead, and Persephone, his wife and co leader of the darkest of realms. Zeus was more angry than usual, he sometimes faked seriousness to seem intimidating, but this time it was serious, he could hardly control the emotions he's feeling right now.

He never felt more hateful towards his brother, the youngest one, the one he saved from the from his father's deadly embrace, he couldn't even bare to look at him, he felt so disgusted by his presence. He wasn't the only one with that emotion, his sister Demeter, who shared the same fate as Hades, had also felt the anger and disappointment towards her daughter, Persephone, her eyes were starting to go red from all the tears accumulated inside of them, she couldn't leave a tune, it was like she went mute, she could hardly breathe because of all the emotions she went through right now.

Hades on the contrary could keep his cool, he felt no emotions, he never shed a single tear, not even for his brothers or anyone he brought to the endless suffering of the Underworld, that is why he was perfect for that job, he wouldn't let weakness such as emotions get on his way of doing his job, unlike his brothers, Zeus who ruled the skies and Poseidon who ruled the seas, he could maintain the Underworld in perfect order and silence. Many souls of the dead tried to rally together and escape the dark place that they were bound to, but Hades always managed to defeat them, maintaining the perfect blank face while wielding his Scepter of the Raven, even though souls are already dead, just a little of Hades' arcane magic is enough to erase them completely from existence.

Once, Leonidas, a Spartan king who died in battle like a hero, couldn't bear to sit tight while he doesn't know what's happening to his homeland. He rallied all the souls of the dead, from the first human, Lucy, to the Theodora of Byzantium who happened to be the newest soul in the army when the rebellion started. Hades had little idea of what was going on, but even if he did, he wouldn't prepare much, he is known for being extremely lazy, but with extreme amounts of magical energy that even surpassed Zeus'.

His laziness is a thing that is keeping him in such a humiliating position, he doesn't want to challenge his brother, not because he fears loss, but he fears hard work and preparation. When the hour came, Leonidas and millions of dead charged in attempt to overthrow and kill Hades while he was recharging his arcane magic.

They moved like a stampedo. They couldn't be stopped. Their wish to see their families, their countries, their homeland again was too great. They all charged towards Hades' castle murdering every single one of his helpers in a process, even the mighty Cerberus had fallen to the millions of the dead, they were too strong. Leonidas was proud, he couldn't wait to go back to Sparta and see how much it had evolved, he wants to feel the fresh smell of olives again, the air before it rains, he wanted to hear the chirping of the birds and noises of children playing. His wife was long dead, just like him, he forgot her name and couldn't find her, it's been so long since he saw her or his kids, Hades used powerful magic to make every dead person one knew be invisible and unable to reach, souls were tormented by it and forced to give up on their old life and start anew.

He wanted to see his wife, yes but he never really loved her. In Sparta it was normal for men to fake romantic feelings towards a comrade because if you share feelings, you share heart and a mind, and therefore perform better when the time of battle comes, but it was different for him, the reason he was such better soldiers is that bonds with his soldier partner weren't backed up by fake drawbridge of emotions, that drawbridge was strong and stable and so were his feelings and their connection, Leonidas never found anything beautiful with women and even his wife knew that, but she loved him too much to let him go and she knew he was in a romantic relationship with one of his soldiers that died in battle of Thermopylae, his name was Alexander. Out of anything in the world he wanted to see him again the most, because when all people escape the Underworld, they all go back to the spots in which they died. It's been more than a millennium since he saw Alexander, but his love for him never faded away. Leonidas suddenly flinched from his reminiscence, because of a little boy that was poking his leg.

"Excuse me, mr Leonidas" he said "We're going out... finally? Is it true that we will make it?".

Leonidas smirked and looked at a little kid, judging by the color of his skin he was Persian, he held no grudge against Persians, because he set their differences aside now in the hour of freedom ,when they all come back to life, concept of death would be no more, because the god of the dead would be killed, he thought. And he was correct, world could finally be in peace and he was sure there was enough room for everyone that was and that is yet to be.

He said to the thin boy, who was obviously extremely poor, with tears of joy in his eyes  
"Do not worry, soon, the castle of Hades will crumble to nothing and death will be no more, we will all come back to life and enjoy our lives like they used to be without all the wars and blood", little boy had light of hope inside of him and started to cry himself. Leonidas, on the edge of tears, wiped his eyes. "Remember what your father told you, Leonidas, real men don't cry, you shouldn't sink so low".

"Lord Leonidas!", Leonidas turned quickly to see a man running close to him, "M'lord, we're about to break into the sealed doors of the Tartarus, our freedom is just around the corner".

With the last strike of the battle oxe, the black metal door, decorated with violet crystals, had been crushed into pieces and were one obstacle less to the joy of freedom.

"Hades!", Leonida screamed, louder than anytime he did before, ceilings started to shake and chandeliers made out of dark glass started to swing. Everything was silent, for the next few seconds.

"Seems like Hades got scared", one soul of middle aged woman said, "King Leonidas, you truly are intimidating".  
That remark made Leonidas feel the flow of confidence go through his veins even more, he knew he's gonna succeed.

"Search every room in the Tartarus, there is no way for him to escape all of us! GO!" Leonidas ordered.

"Yes, king Leonidas!", millions of souls said and started the charge, just to stop immediately.

"Ah, king Leonidas, what brings you to my castle right now, with tons of visitors?". Leonidas turned, he wanted to see the source of that noise, the air in the room got chill and he could start to feel his confidence boost get big again, the ground started to form the ice over how cold the air was and the fog started to appear, leaving the whole room appear like a cloud that came from the sky, that none of the souls had seen in such a while.

"Welcome to Tartarus my friend, what brings you here", Leonidas knew who he was, light blue- gray hair, elven ears, one of which has an earning with light blue sapphire engraved in it, his skin tone was almost as white as snow and eyes were whiter than it, in his right hand he carried a black staff, taller even than he is, but still he could use it with such an ease. The staff had vines of thrones around it and a raven in a sitting position on top of it, that raven had crystals engraved in his eyes, the ones similar to the ones his earning has.

"Hades" ,he mumbled, " The army of souls that you keep locked in here and I have came here to take our livesy back! But in order for us to succeed, you must be the one to bite the dust! Now, give us a Scepter of the Raven or we'll be forced to use violence".

Hades laughed slightly, "Heh, come and get it, Leonidas!".

Leonidas ordered charge and millions of souls started running wildly towards Hades. Hades stomped his foot on the ground, suddenly large thorned vines came swinging and squeezed at least one tenth of the whole army, then he manipulated the vines and concentrated them all into the glass chandelier at the entrance, Leonidas was shocked he wiped out one tenth of all the human who ever lived with one foot stomp.

"He surely is worthy of his title, that will make his murder even sweeter", he stopped being so confidant the second he saw hades put his fingers of the right hand closer to each other and softly snapped them, but it could be heard by everyone. The chandelier started to get frostbitten and slowly got covered in ice and souls inside of it started screaming, there were millions of people crying out in pain as their bodies solidified and they lost complete control over them, the cries at one point got so loud, the ceilings shook even more then when Leonidas heroically entered that accursed castle, hope seemed to get lost and decreased. Chandelier got completely imprisoned in ice together with all the souls ice continued to get heavier and heavier until the point the titanium rope that held it got snapped and fell on on the army, squishing about two fifths of an army, Hades smirked.

"Half down, half to go".

In the middle of his triumph he grabbed onto his chest in pain, he was really low on arcane magic and even though he's immortal, his heart finds it hard to handle that much of pressure his grip on his Scepter of the Raven got a little loose, Hades' head started spinning and he coughed some blood. In the moment of his weakness, he couldn't notice a small kid sneaking near him, more and more, and honestly he had bigger problems now. He tried to concentrate and gather some arcane magic, he usually does that by absorbing a human soul or meditating, but all the human souls are against him and extremely far away and it is not greatest time to sit vulnerable and fall into the trans, so meditation is off too. Just as he was about to regenerate when he noticed someone snatching his Scepter of the Raven.

"Give it back, you scum!", Hades yelled desperately.

"Never, you demon, lord Leonidas will bring us all back to life with this!", Leonidas turned, and his smile got wider, it was that Persian boy he talked to, he ended up to be the one who had enough courage to get near the terror of the Underworld who is Hades. Persian could hardly hold the scepter but he still managed to throw it down the stairs. Force of gravity did the rest and the Scepter of the Raven was now in Leonidas' possession. Every dead soul cheered for the little boy and they were all amazed by how brave he is for his age, he could hear them cheering and he felt relieved and he could feel a spark of joy inside him again, he never felt it when he was alive, his father died in a war and his mother was a slave, so he had to live with her and be slave as well. His life was miserable and he never wanted this moment to end, his time to shine is now, he saved so many human lives and now they're cheering for him, the cheer slowly turned into a warning, they were saying something like "careful" or "behind you,kid", when he started turning his head it had been too late, Hades' cool and thin fingers were grabbing his neck and he couldn't breathe.

"You might think that you have helped you comrades right now and that you were a successful for once in your entire existence, however i assure you, you were neither helpful nor useful to them, but to me, oh you will be a thing that will save me from death and humanity from joy of eternal life"

With those words Hades took off his earning and with his entire fist put it in the boy's mouth. Boy felt cold, colder than before, he felt cold enough to suffer badly, but not as cold to die, he could feel his vision get blurry and his heart beats go slower. Hades continued to hold his hand into a boy's mouth for a while until boy's flesh had disappeared and he had became nothing but bones. Hades had absorbed his soul and with it some proteins and vitamins to help his heart survive the shock it has been through. Hades' arcane magic started flowing through his body again and the room became even colder than the abyss itself.

"I must thank that boy for helping me retrieve my arcane magic, for you people were rude enough to interrupt me while i was meditating, i had only used 3% of power when i fought you."

Leonidas was shocked and started to get scared. "It's not possible no one is that strong".  
He thought and started to get worried, they will not make it and they won't even be able to live in the Underworld they will be completely wiped off the face of the world... no, he refused to accept it, the nostalgia and patriotism were high in him and he wanted to see his country again, his wife and Alexander, the man he loved.

"Hades! Even though you have Arcane magic inside of you again it wouldn't be enough to beat me, millions of the dead and your Scepter of the Raven!"

Hades seemed to have figured that out, he got his hands on his face and seemed to start crying, his confidence left him and he was left hopeless, he lost to very people he killed and from being best god at his job he turned out to make such a huge mistake, Leonidas saw him and started to walk up the stairs that separated him and Hades, his steps were light and he didn't seem to be in a hurry, Leonidas climbed up the last step and swung Scepter of the Raven high above his head and then he hit him as hard as he could, chopping his head off.

The blood started coming out as a fountain from Hades' body and he was laying there dead, it's over, the rain of terror from Hades was over and now finally everything can go back to normal, he thought about Sparta and Alexander and finally being free from death's cold embrace, but his fantasizing stopped as he continued to hear Hades cry, even though he was dead.

He turned his chopped off head to check if he was still alive and all he had to see was his lifeless face staring at him coldly. However he could still hear him cry. The cry slowly turned into a maniacal laughter that gave chills to every soul in the room. On the opposite side of the hall, Leonidas saw Hades walk near him and being the source of that laughter that made everyone go numb.

"Oh dear, Leonidas, you didn't think i would let you get me so easily, did you?", asked Hades. Leonidas was confused, his heart was beating fast and he couldn't keep up with his lungs' breathing pace.

"How... how is this possible? I murdered you! Right here! How? Is it because you're immortal and can't die?".

"Hmph, dear, Leonidas, yes, i am immortal, but i can assure you, i can die, all gods can. Being immortal means you have powers beyond human imaging and being able to control various forces, in other words, be a god. You humans made immortality same to the inability to die because no god was ever killed before, except for my dear father and other Titans, of course. But i can assure you", Hades licked his lips,"All gods can die, just in a same way normal humans can, too bad that Hades you killed wasn't me, it was someone who bonded their soul with me, he was too scared to die and wanted to continue living in the human world".

Leonidas lost almost all of his strength, "Could it be that his fog is draining souls too?"

"Don't you dare interrupt me again!" His voice got deep and intimidating, not like his usual neutral and cold tone. Hades stomped his foot and a pillar of ice came out of the ground sealing Leonidas' lover half of the body.

"As I was saying", Hades' tone returned to normal, "This human wanted to live forever, however it was not so easy to do that, I made a compromise with him, every time he died, he would reincarnate as another human being with no soul, he would live normally and feel all the emotions human feel, but his every death will be painful and he will never be here, with the rest of the people. But many ask, why Hades, why would you let a human manipulate a god like you? I'll tell you why!"  
Hades got closer to Leonidas and whispered into his ear. "He was the most beautiful man i ever had to welcome here."

Leonidas cringed, Hades didn't mind him and continue to speak, "I rarely feel any emotions, it takes something really strong to made me feel, sadness, happiness... love, I might think you know this person", Hades snapped fingers, his other lifeless body started to gain color, his white hair got dark brown color and his muscle mass got bigger, Leonidas knew who he was, he couldn't accept it, "No, no, please, why? Why did you do this Alexander!"

"Ah, I see, so you do recognize him.", Hades' eyes were shining, he was having so much fun right now, but his poker face remained unchanged. He picked up Alexander's lifeless head and started walking around Leonidas.  
"This man fought in many wars, as i've heard and he was always considered brave by his comrades, well that is wrong". Hades continued to walk around Leonidas and continued taunting him.  
"He fought, yes but he was one strange Spartan soldier, he was scared to die. He was scared so much that he attempted to plea with me, the lord of the Underworld, luckily for him". Hades licked Alexander's cheek, Leonidas felt sick by that, he never thought he'd meet such a psychopath ever in his life.  
"Luckily for him, he was extremely handsome. He was the only one that made me feel that feeling you people call... love, i never thought i'd meet someone better him, who can finally awake my emotions, but i did, her name was Persephone, my wife. She knows about Alexander of course, because he's nothing but just a mere puppet now. Well he's dead, so he's completely useless now".

Hades got to Alexander's body and kicked it, "NO!", Leonidas screamed, "People, charge!", in his surprise no one charged, "People, charge!"  
Hades laughed a bit.  
"Dear Leonidas, take a look around you, they all got annihilated by my chilling fog, their souls have been absorbed by me, you're finished now"

Leonidas cried."It's over now?"  
Hades lifted Alexander's lifeless head and kissed it passionately.

"Now it is all over, good bye, Alexander, goodbye Leonidas." Hades ripped out Leonidas' arm that held The Scepter and took it for himself.  
"Before you vanquish into nothingness, i wish to thank you Leonidas, I have completely emptied the Underworld thanks to you rebellion and now my job will be much easier, no? Again thank you, and bye."

Hades touched Leonidas' face and squeezed it slightly. Leonidas was choking, he was coughing out blood and was yelling in pain, most of the blood got on Hades' face but he didn't change his facial expression at all, Leonidas died in pain and all his efforts were meaningless, he failed to protect Sparta while alive, and now, while dead he failed to protect all other people who were before and after him, his life was one big failure. When it had all been done Hades sat in his amethyst and silver throne and started laughing maniacally, celebrating his victory and complete death of all the humans. This event is known as The Great Underground Escape.


	2. The Polluted water and Irises

Hades smirked as he reminisced about that past event. Even though it was long ago it was second time in his entire life as a god when he felt real emotion. It is true, he is very young for a god, but he's been through much and he's seen empires fall and rise, brothers slaughtering each other for fame and throne. Nothing surprises him anymore, he's ready for everything, he is expecting the unexpectable. Hades is a smart god, his intelligence is overwhelming and he could influence and manipulate many gods. The only gods he couldn't use as puppets are his brothers, Zeus and Poseidon and Zeus' daughter, the wisest deity of them all, Athena.

Even though he enjoys reliving The Great Underground Escape in his mind there is one event that brings more emotion to him than that. It was the day he saw Persephone, his wife, for the first time in his life. She is one special being for him, every time when he was around her, he felt his heart drumming faster, his vision getting blurry, his icy feeling toastier. Not even now when he's expected to confess and spill the beans, not even his brother's look of disgust could make him not pay at least some of his attention to his wife. He noticed that this day her hair looked more dry and lifeless than usual, he could also see that the small portion of it was missing.

"Persephone pays attention to her looks always. If she came to the meeting of the gods uncombed that could only mean that she has suffered a lot of stress lately. She may be on the brink of madness", Hades thought, how really is bad a situation they're in right now, he couldn't see why all the fuss was about and frankly he didn't care to notice.

Persephone looked at her mother's face. It was filled with anger, yet she could see love and empathy, filled with disappointment, yet she could see some mercy in it, it was confusing. Like she is trying to decipher an ancient document of some sort, she was never good at deciphering.

"Sorry, mother.", she spoke to herself, "You were right, i shouldn't have ever met him". She turned to Hades who did the same. She always got lost in his eyes, she loved how he looked at her. His eyes, even though they were as pale as ice and as foggy as winter evening, were filled with passion and urge to protect her. How could such evil and frostbitten eyes have such heartwarming feel to them.  
"Why must everything in my life be so complicated and full of contradictions?"  
She answered her questions few seconds after.

"I'm the most complicated creature that i ever met. I don't know why i even asked."  
Whilst thinking to herself she periodically got lost into Hades' cold eyes, she never seemed to get enough of them, she was addicted and she loved it.

"Sorry I ever thought meeting you was a mistake, my dear Hades, we can get out of this situation together." She said in her mind, but when seeing his smirk after she did, she knew that he could read her like open book.

"That is my husband!"  
Hades could always sense what she was thinking, even when the first time they met. She wouldn't be alive right now if it wasn't for him. She loved and hated reliving that day, it was the happiest and the saddest day of her life.

"Persephone! Persephone, my dear!"  
Persephone was sitting in a field full of flowers, daydreaming and making a necklace of the purple iris, she was too focused to acknowledge her mother speaking out her name. She loved irises, they were dark, yet beautiful at the same time, that is how she felt right now. She had dark thoughts running through her head and felt extremely depressed.

"Persephone, answer me!"  
There she goes again. Persephone loves her mother, Demeter, but she wishes that she wasn't so overprotective. She could never speak to any boy, her mother would rip their skin off and make them reincarnate as livestock, she could never try anything but fruits and vegetables, since meat would make her large and unappealing to look at, she could never go somewhere alone, her mother's duty was to protect her.

"I wish she could let me grow up for once", Persephone fantasized about her life if Demeter wasn't so overprotective, she could do anything, talk to any boy, eat lamb chomps and even some of that cheese everyone is speaking about, or she could even give her virginity to someone.

She stopped fantasizing, she could escape her easily and continue to live on her dream life, she is an adult, why not, she doesn't care about being immortal god, she wants to have fun and live life, but there is one reason she didn't already escape.

"The escape seems like a lot of hard work, and right now i feel too lazy", with that thought she continued to create her iris necklace

"Persephone! Don't play around! Come here!"

"Does she ever shut up?"  
Her patience got thinner, there is so much of her that she can endure without blowing off steam. As she reached out for another iris her hand suddenly stopped.

"That was the last one?"

She quickly scanned the field with her vision but she couldn't see anymore purple jewels in a sea full of white and yellow garbage.

"Ugh daisies…."

She loved daisies, true, but right now she needs some flowers that aren't cheerful, she needs some flowers that can speak the common tongue as she does. She couldn't find them, no matter how much she searches, no irises are to be seen. Oh well, time to face her now.

"Persephone!", Demeter was furious, "Where have you been! Didn't you hear me calling out for you?"

"Sorry, mother, i could hardly hear you. Also i was busy making a necklace."

"Oh a necklace?" Demeter's anger seemed to have vanished from her beautiful face, It was replaced by curiosity and her face had the intrigued look.

"Come on, show your mommy the necklace.", Persephone unwillingly gave her the necklace.

"Here you go, mother, hope you like it."  
Happiness, that came to her face fast, suddenly turned into disgust.

"Oh, irises, I see… But Persephone, my dear, why did you make it out of them? Irises are too gloomy, I want you to be my happy little girl."

Persephone wasn't surprised, her mother always wanted her to be happy. To be fair she was happy and cheerful a lot, but from time to time she could forget every beautiful thing that existed in this world and feel really blue.

"I love irises, mother", she defended herself

"Ah i see", Demeter replied.

Demeter could see her daughter is depressed, but she doesn't want her daughter to suffer, there must be something she could do to cheer her up. After a long thought, her bell rang, of course it was that simple.

"Persephone" Persephone could see that her mother got a little bit more confident and sure of herself.

"What has she thought of?" Persephone wondered

"That necklace of yours" Demeter sounded even more harsh, why the sudden change of heart?

"What about it?" Persephone got nervous

After that word, they continued to look at each other, like in a children's game, staring contest. Game was over when Demeter spoke.  
"That necklace you made is too boring, too monotonous, too predictable. I don't like it."  
Persephone could hardly control herself. She was getting provoked and taunted, Persephone knew that, but her mother was too good at it.

"Why are you judgemental over my necklace? Is it because it is too sad? Do you want me to be a perfect daughter that never got in any temptations, the one that will be your successor, the perfect role model for everyone who looks at me? Do you want every boy that notices me to fall in love with me instantly? Oh wait, you won't let that! You killed so much innocent boys that tried to talk to me! You're a monster!"  
Persephone was overrating her nerves, her patience broke like a thin branch from dead olive tree. She never thought she could be so rude and impolite. She doesn't regret a thing, Demeter deserved it.

Persephone was expecting her mother to get frustrated and yell at her, but nothing that she said would make her feel sorry for Demeter, she gave her a piece of her mind, she succeeded.

"Come on, mother, get enraged." she couldn't wait to see the outcome. However on her surprise, Demeter was terribly calm. "What is going on?"

"Dear, Persephone, look around, this field is full of daisies, i suggest you put some of them on your necklace. They will put some joy into it"

Persephone was irritated, how could she expect her mother to understand her message, she was far too cheerful. Persephone was preparing to bark out again, her fists were shaking, vein popped on her forehead, her heart sped up the pace and her breathing got faster. She opened her mouth to tell her mother that she had it, it's enough, she will tell her how boresome she is and how she wants to be left alone! But as the first letter came out of her mouth, Demeter interrupted her. She was laughing. Persephone's anger turned into confusion.  
"My dear daughter, have you listened to what i said? I said it was too monotonous and boring. You think i don't know irises are your way of expressing sadness and wish for independence? I suggested daisies for couple reasons. One of them was to taunt you, into seeing if you're mature enough to stand up for what you believe in, which obviously you are. You seem to be ready to get out of my leash and live your own life, i think i will let you out of your cage for a bit, you're a beautiful dove and you need to fly!"  
Persephone was shocked. That was more surprising than anything she ever did. Persephone was sure that she would have taken insults ,or even hits,better than this. That was out of the blue. How can her mother turn so soft so easily. Even though she never felt so confused in her life, she was glad her mother understands her decision and is ready to let her go. She can finally have everything she dreamed about, freedom, independence and chance to fall in love.

"Persephone!" Demeter continued "You seem to be quite hasty. I am not done. This isn't the only reason i suggested daisies." Demeter got Persephone's attention once again, what will she say to surprise her now?

"I would have told you the same if the necklace was made out of daisies only. Putting a little bit of iris here and there is good too. Life is complicated thing, you never face only one emotion, even if you do it gets boring and repetitive. Try new things, do some things you may regret and feel happy, sad, angry, experience everything, that is the joy that this life brings to us." Demeter smiled at her daughter, she was never prouder of her. She lived her entire life for this moment, to see her beloved daughter get strength to become independant.

"They grow up so fast", Demeter reminiscenced about the times when Persephone was just a little infant, so small and fragile, she dreamed about a day when she will stand here to look at her all grown up, she loved it.

"Persephone, come and give your mother a hug!", Demeter told delightedly and opened her arms. Persephone looked at her mother, even though gods age slowly when they hit their 5th millennium, which is equivalent to human 20 year old, she could see how Demeter started to age, Persephone noticed one small silver strand of hair on Demeter's hair and thin pore lines around her mouth.  
"It really has been a while...:" Persephone realized and ran into her mother's arms, hugging her.

"Mother, I love you, no matter what"  
"I love you too, my daughter…"

The clouds started to accumulate, drowning Sun's hot rays in their shadow and turning everything dark. Darkness became deeper and deeper, at which point Persephone and Demeter could hardly recognize one another.

"Mother, what is happening?" Persephone cried out in vain. Demeter was helplessly looking at the sky, she couldn't even see branches above them, what can create such enormous darkness all of the sudden?  
Darkness was occasionally broken by lightning flashes that were intense enough to illuminate huge area. Demeter suspected someone, he was coming.

"Persephone, my brother is coming…" Persephone was still dazed by intense lightning flashes.  
"Lord Zeus is coming?" Persephone said frighteningly

"Yes, he is, my daughter" Demeter confirmed.

"Demeter! My beloved sister! Sorry to break this mother-daughter moment but right now you are wanted elsewhere Demeter." Zeus descended from the skies rapidly, he was shining brighter than lightnings he sent to this world. Zeus was young god, even though his children, humans, are giving him long beard and elderly looks, he doesn't get mad, he must remain professional. His hair was brown and short, decorated with 2 thin, green olive branches. He wore toga, which didn't cover all of his masculine torso and wielded a staff, large staff, which was taller than him. That rod was white, bright, surrounded with quartz crystals forming circles around it. The top of the rod was decorated by a golden eagle that had white, diamond eyes.

"Lord Zeus", Persephone bowed, he nodded his head at her, just in formality she felt.

"Sister, the town far from here had its waters polluted by Miasma, goddess of disease, no magic we use can cure the waters around it, if this continues, black plague will spread in the future and millions of people will be killed. Sister, you're the goddess of nature, you are the only that is able to save water on this planet."

Demeter got scared, how could this happen, she made sure she got rid of Miasma for good, but she returned somehow? No time to think, she has to stop polluted water from spreading and save humans as well as all the other species inhabited by this planet. It is her job to keep the planet and nature as beautiful as it can be, because of that she has to be the one to do that, it is no one else's job. Of Course, why would her brother, Zeus, wisest one of them all give her a task like this if she wasn't fitting? She has to do it now!

"Persephone, I'm going! Please stay here!" Demeter begged her daughter "I have to do my duty right now, don't worry mommy will be back soon"

Persephone had tears accumulated in her eyes… but she wasn't scared, she trusted her mother, she knew she'd never lie to her, besides, she just has to purify some water, how hard could it be?

Suddenly something popped in her mind, how could she miss this detail?

"Lord Zeus, can i ask you one question?" Persephone wondered

"What's the matter, young Persephone?" Zeus answered indifferently

"Why did you send my mother to pure the waters?" Persephone asked suspiciously, "Your brother is the god of the waters, why didn't you send Poseidon to do that job?" Persephone wondered.

"Do not bother me child, I have stuff to do, so does Poseidon, your mother was here, being lazy as usual, making flower necklaces and doing nothing progressivel" Zeus answered, he tried to remain his cool but it was obvious he was frustrated at her. With that word, Zeus began to ascend to the skies and disappear in dark grey clouds that turned into a white sheep clouds the moments he disappeared.

Persephone was devastated, she knew this couldn't be right, there was something fishy about him. Zeus wasn't like she imagined, he was too rude, but she might be expecting too much, Zeus has his flaws too, every immortal does, why is she so frustrated. Surely her mother will just do that simple job and return momentarily.

Persephone continued to attempt to calm herself down, but her tear flew by their own. What is this bad feeling she's getting? She was too upset and sad to notice someone behind her, someone much larger than her that created a large shadow. She didn't even have time to turn her head when the large figure smacked her head and she fell lifelessly.


	3. Splitting in half

It was warm and pleasant day in Greece, which was nothing new for this land famous for it's beautiful and always sunny weather. Clouds seemed like they tried to get out of the Sun's way, the same way servants got out of the way when the glorious and legendary King Egeus walked before them. Sun was doing it's job perfectly that day, land wasn't boiling, yet the air kept that temprant feel to it. Wind was so gentle it felt like the touch of the most expensive silken dress that came straight from the faraway land that is China. Everything was awake and vibrant, nothing on that spring was out of order or even a little bit out of the balance, in one word "flawless". A small bird was trying to dig out an even tinier pink worm from the wet soil. Little hare jumped around the same field full of white daisies. He scouted his surroundings smelling the air filled with pollen and smell of fresh ozone.

Perfect harmony that was established in that field was broken as a sound of heavy wooden club was heard. The little bird flew away into the blue sky, the little hare jumped towards his home as fast as he could, the young woman dropped dead on the cold muddy ground in the direction where the sound of the club was heard. Girl's long fair hair, that now had greasy mud and blood stains, was covering her youthful, inexperienced face, making her look helpless and alone, which she was. There was nothing she could do in a situation like this. It too late to shed tears now, she is dead anyways..

Persephone slowly started to gain consciousness. Her vision was blurry and she couldn't feel her limbs. Her nose was filled with variety of smells, blood, sweat and dirt, and that combination made go on the edge of throwing up. She slowly started to recognize shapes and sounds around her, she could see grand oak trees and hear some people speaking. She couldn't puzzle out if the voices were male, female or even human, nor she could decipher anything they were saying, it was like they were speaking gibberish.

When Persephone attempted to move her legs, something was forbidding her to do so. It was like she lost control over the lower half of her body, she always wondered how the disabled people live with all their difficulties, but she never thought she'd one day put the same shoes as they were. It was unmistakable, something or someone was carrying her. She turned her head slowly to see what or who that was. That seemed to be one of the most dire and agonizing challenges Persephone has been put on.

She never thought that it could be this hard to do one simple movement, but it was. After a long struggle, she saw the arm of the person who was carrying her. Her hair was getting in the way of her eyesight and tears mixed with blood didn't help her either. She just saw an arm, nothing else, that is all her brain was able to process right now. She never saw uglier arm in her life, meaty, over muscular, hairy, absolutely gruesome.

Persephone was confused, what emotion is she supposed to feel now? Her mother is gone to a shady mission from which she might never return, she was carried somewhere by an unknown man, but still she was alive, barely, but alive. So sadness? Fear? Happiness? Persephone didn't want and didn't have strength to free herself from the tight grip of the man. She just accepted her fate and left her her head to hang like some sort of butchered pig's flesh.

She tried to see where she is being taken to right now. She turned her eyes to the right side of the road , she saw a field of grass and flowers. On those fields she saw couple of blurred dots, which differed in size and the color.  
"Are those animals?" She thought, but her worsened vision hadn't allowed her to be sure.  
"Look at you, jumping around, enjoying life, looking for love… lucky bastards."

Persephone's head started to hurt, she seemed to lost strength to even think and fantasize. She just relaxed completely and slowly sealed her eyes.

"I'll think of a way to escape when I get rest… right now, I'm too lazy."

Soldier Aeson and his comrade Eunor were returning to their base after finished an assignment. Tall, masculine, wide shouldered and with lots of body hair, that was a perfect way to describe them. They were the strongest soldiers Greece had possessed and were almost disgusted with how easy of the task they had been given.

"Aeson, are you believing this?" Eunor complained "Out of all the task we could have gotten, we got this one… I have never done an easier one in my life"  
"I agree!" Aeson replied "The warriors of legend, like ourselves, shouldn't be so harshly disgraced with the embarrassment that is this job!"  
"I don't remember doing anything more humiliating and unfitting of my skills ever!" Eunor replied angrily "But at least I get to carry this extremely gorgeous girl"  
"Please be careful, my friend She might be a weak girl but she's also a goddess, a daughter of the one and only Demeter, goddess of nature, with the power to make an entire forest crush down upon us if she found out we kidnaped her precious little girl"

Eunor was far too busy feeling important because he was carrying such valuable treasure on his shoulders that he had no time to think about her overly attached mother, this assignment is out of utter most importance as their commander told them. He offered a huge reward and glory to the one who did this task. Lots of people applied, but Eunor and Aeson made sure none of them got there before them… or alive.

His comrade continued to speak something, Eunor could only recognize few words he spoke, "riches", "bounty","splitting in half". He continued to fantasize when suddenly, something disturbed the utopian future he was sculpting for himself. He realized, he needs to split the reward with him.

Eunor's respect for his comrade started to turn into envy and greed, he doesn't want to share this moment with anyone, he wants it all for himself. No way he could let an uncivilized brute like him get in a way of his ascension to the top ranks of Greek soldiers or maybe even Gods. Yellow gold, cold silver, the finest wine and the most beautiful women in the entire Greece are awaiting him, they're just around the corner, all he has to do is get the girl back to his master, alone, without Aeson. But how will he delay Aeson's arrival? He's swifter and more agile than Eunor, outspeeding is not an option.

Outspeeding was one of two options he had. But the second option, it was too much, even for him. He tried searching for the answer, for the solution, but it was like looking for needle at the hay sack. No matter how much options he's gone through, the one always seemed to pop up. He wanted to silence it, but it was too loud. He tried to deny it, there must be other way, but deep down he knew, it has to come to this. Murder.

"Aeson, my friend, I think we're halfway away from the camp,it's only fair if you carry the girl for this half of the way" Eunor told Aeson while attempting to make his voice seem sweet and sincere. In order for him to do the perfect execution, he must be fully functional, the girl has to go into Aeson's hands.

Aeson was confused. What is wrong with Eunor? He was always a type that wanted to carry the victory trophy back to the base. Why the sudden change of heart? He knew Eunor too well, that request from his side was a major shock to him. He's planning something.  
"Um, I do not see the reason for you to ask this from me. As you said, that girl is light and easy to carry, you can get carry her yourself, no?"

Aeson's response didn't catch Eunor off guard at all. Aeson was sharp as well as strong, he had both the brains and the brawn. He always liked that about him when they went on tough missions together, but right now his perception and intellect were getting in his affairs and he cursed Aeson for ever being born that way.

Persephone could hear the voices again. She could figure out that they were deep and male. That is progress. She is slowly starting to regain consciousness and be aware of things happening around her. She still felt strong grip around her waist and legs. It was a miracle because blood could hardly circulate around that area. The man carrying her smelt like sweat and bacon. Her stomach was turning. Why couldn't she be carried by someone who has heard about the term "bathing"? But at least her sense of smell was back. Persephone had trouble opening her eyes, she just wanted to continue sleeping forever while being carried by an unknown predator. Her eyes were hurting her and she had a massive headache, she had no motivation to fight back the fate right now.

It's for the best, isn't it? There is no reason to fight back, this man that carries her obviously is obviously overwhelmingly stronger than she'd dream to be. Even if she managed to beat him up, his comrade was also a problem, no way she could go two against one in this state. Even if miracle happened and she out brawled these two hooligans, where would she go? She doesn't know where she is right now. She can't say for sure if it's still Greece or not. If another miracle happened and she found out where she was, she'd attract lots of dangerous wild animals with razor sharp fangs by her strong smell of despair, weakness and blood. It was obvious, she needs to throw a towel, it's the only rational thing to do. As her hope started to leave her body and bloody tears made her face even more dirty,and less beautiful, she kept her eyes closed shut in hope of finding tranquility or realizing this was just one great nightmare. Why did her mother leave her in a time like this?

Her mother? Demeter? Yes, why did she leave her now? Out of all these years, she decided to go now. She always acted overprotective and nurturing, but when she's needed the most, she's nowhere to be seen, what kind of mother is she!? The concern she felt for her mother was gone, she could only feel anger and disappointment now. She left her hanging because of some stupid job that was obviously a scam. Why didn't she think clearly? Why was her mother so stupid? If she loved her, she'd be here with her, killing off those two brutes and taking her home where she could drink fresh spring nectar and relax while listening to the relaxing sound of pan's flute and harp.

Persephone suddenly realized how stupid she sounded like. She told her mother she wants independance, well she's got it now. This is a final test, if she can live without her mother anymore, she has matured and grown enough to become strong independant woman. But if she's to fail, she'll have to accept her mother's presence and annoyance for a bit more, without complaint. The hour of truth is almost here for Persephone. It is the time to show what she's got.

Demeter was the goddess of harvest and nature, she knew her way about plants and flowers. She had taught Persephone some tips and skills that could help her if she anytime got in a situation similar to this one. Persephone tried to concentrate, blood drops falling on the ground beneath her head, she was in such pain, yet she tried to focus. She always had problems with maintaining concentration and erasing her mind, but this time she had to do her best and remember something her mother taught her, she showed her hundreds if not thousands of tricks of manipulating vines, flowers, thorns, weeds into her advantage, but her mind was bare, nothing popped up.

"Come on, you stupid! Think!" Persephone scolded herself helplessly, but no progress was shown, she couldn't remember anything. She stopped forcing herself to think, it's all over now. She relaxed and closed her eyes for the final time.  
"I'm not ready yet mother, you were right, sorry for failing to realize that, but it's too late for apologies, i'm going to die"

Eunor and Aeson sped up their pace. Both of them were bloodthirsty and wanted the worst for one another. It's disgusting how money and fame got them blinded, irrational. They were ready to kill each other any second. They were both on their guard and knew what to expect from one another.

Eunor always went for his sword that was on his back when he wanted to attack, Aeson was keeping an eye on Eunor's right hand and his sword, no way he'd outspeed him. Aeson always used his spear when going for an attack, Eunor knew what before Aeson attacks, he needs to do few hand symbols, Aeson was very superstitious, those hand symbols were his pre attack ritual, he never goes for an attack without doing them.

Eunor continued to look at Aeson's hand closely, nothing suspicious has been done so far, but he knew Aeson is getting ready to strike and steal the trophy he was carrying. He started cursing Aeson and his whole family in himself and wishing he never met or knew him. His negative thoughts were suddenly interrupted, he saw something behind Aeson. It was field of daisies.

"Look, Aeson, daisies.. here?" Eunor asked surprised.  
Aeson turned almost instantaneously. He stopped staring at his comrade, trying to figure out when he's gonna strike and gave all his precious attention to the bed of white flowers. Antaea, the woman Aeson wanted to spend the rest of his life with, loved those flowers. She would be immensely joyful if he is to bring her a bouquet of daisies. He doesn't usually gift her stuff, sentimental garbage and emotions were not his speciality, but at least he was sure, she'd enjoy these. Antaea. He loved that woman, she is the only woman he could cherish for the rest of his life, no whore could replace her, she was perfect in every way, in short, a goddess. He continued to reminiscence about his dear love, forgetting the situation he's in right now, he was living in his own world, he payed no attention to the world around him.

Eunor was looking at his comrade from behind. He's got the opportunity, a precious one indeed. He slowly started to put Persephone down on the dirt road, trying not to make any sound whilst doing it. He drew out his sword and slowly started to sneak behind Aeson. Aeson was like a lost kid, he didn't pay any attention to his surroundings and kept his vision locked on the field of flowers.

Eunor got closer and closer. He was now at the perfect distance, Aeson still didn't notice anything, the time couldn't be more ideal

Eunor raised his sword, his face seemed determined, Aeson is gonna drop dead right here right now, or so he thought. He got some second thoughts running through his head. Is he really ready to sell out his long time partner only to fulfill his selfish and greedy fantasies, has he really sunk that low. "If I kill him now, I'm no better than the criminals Aeson and I captured and brought to the light of justice, but on the other hand, no one has to know I was the one to kill him". Eunor was arguing with himself there for a while, he never seems to win in that argument. Why doesn't he just kill him now?

"Enough mercy, I know why I'm doing this, nobody should miss the opportunity such as this one! Friendships come and go, but fame is internal."

Eunor closed his eyes and swung his sword with such speed and force he never knew he possessed.

He could hear the flock of birds fly away in fear and the sound of flesh hitting the ground. Eunor's face felt warm, not because his blood was raging through his body, but because he was covered bathing in someone else's. His comrade's blood. Eunor attempted to clean his face with his large hand, still keeping his eyes closed, he still isn't ready to see the results of his vicious deed.

Opening eyes for Eunor right now seemed like an impossible task, he knew exactly what was awaiting him on the other side, blood, Aeson's decapitated body, his head and some flesh flies that already smelled the fresh slaughter.

He couldn't, but he had to, no matter how hard it was for him, he needs to get over his emotions. Emotions are weakness. Only thing that matters is creating the best image you can for yourself, people around you are mere bystanders and pedestrians. Yes. Pedestrians, lower class, unimportant scum. Strongest survive in this world, and if Eunor is to become one of the strongest, he must accept the fact that now, he is a murderer and his comrade is dead, he needs to live on and get famous. The determination started flowing in his veins like the cataracts of the Nile, he opened his eyes.

He saw what he was expecting. Blood, body, head, flies. They were all here. That scene looked scarier in his head than it did on the eye. It wasn't that bad. Eunor took a deep breath, the most air he could, since his lungs were clogged by the smell of death, from all years in the service in the military, he still didn't get used to the smell of death, he despised it.

Persephone was traumatized and scared. What's going on behind her? What are those two man-pigs doing to each other? Did one kill his comrade? Persephone's question got answered, even though it was mainly rhetorical.

Her hair got wet, soaking wet, she could hardly breathe and was on the edge of throwing up. "It's blood", She whispered.

Persephone was shocked by the act of inhumanity this pig has shown. She was disgusted by the foolish excuse he had for his comrade's murder. Fame. Money. Sluts. " _To hell with your greed, humans! Some day I swear I will take my revenge on you, man-pig_!" Persephone's failed attempt to get up got her back into the reality, she is in no condition to get up, so revenge and spreading justice is not an option either.

Rage was boiling inside of her, never before she had felt it reach such high point. She was furious. That disgusting man murdered someone from behind, in the most cowardly fashion she could think of, while that poor soul was looking at the view of something. Persephone suddenly finched. " _Wait… what was that other man looking at? He's a soldier, good soldier never puts his guard down. Unless it was something very very intriguing"_.

Persephone is a curious soul, it was like she was being slowly eaten out from the inside. She has to know what was so precious for that poor victim. What made him go so blank? What made him lose the sense for his surroundings? Persephone gathered some strength and lift herself with the help of her forearms. Her once majestic, straight, fair hair was getting in the way of her eyesight once again. " _My Gods, if I survive this I swear, I will cut this useless thing!"_ Persephone's eyes were tired out from all the crying and all the dirt that had been in them, but still she managed to keep them open and she focused, harder and harder.

Grass. That is all she could see. Grass, some weeds, oaks and that is it. Nothing on this field was worth the special time that soldier was giving it. Field was monotonous and plain, green color everywhere. No sight of anything of anything special or breathtaking. Maybe Persephone needs to look harder.

Eunor's heart skipped a beat or ao few, he did something atrocious now. His hands were shaking, sweat was dripping from his forehead and his eyes were almost bursting with tears. " _No time for emotions right now"_. He wiped away the sweat and eyes and tried to maintain the natural look he always had. He couldn't he had to leash out his emotions and free himself from their chains, he felt emotions were corrupting him.

"THAT'S WHAT YOU GET FOR LOVING STUPID FLOWERS SO MUCH! TO HELL WITH YOU AESON. WITH YOU AND YOUR DAISIES!"

Eunor screamed out from the bottom of his lungs. His vocal chords were on the verge of breaking, if it had been any louder, he would have gone mute for good. But luckily for him, he didn't. He freed himself from emotions he was struggling with and was about to become the richest man on the Earth. Eunor's life was about to become fabulous, easy and luxurious, he was looking forward to his new life!

" _Daisies…"_

Persephone's ears were hurting because of that brute's uncivilized way of unleashing emotions, but she still heard that he mentioned daisies. She had to see them to believe they were here. The grass was too tall for her forehead and his eyes were almost bursting with tears. " _No time for emotions right now"_. He wiped away the sweat and eyes and tried to maintain the broken bones. That was the very first spell her mother had taught her and she remembered it clearly, her memory started to get refreshed. She needs to get in the middle of that daisy field and do a ritual followed by the song. It was her last hope, she needs to do it. She needs to get on her feet, reach the field and do the ritual. If she was in normal condition, that would have been a piece of cake, but in her current state, she barely had strength to stand, running or even mere walking felt more impossible than flying to her. But miracles might happen, she decided to give it a try

" _I'm tired of being lazy!"_

Persephone tried to lift herself. Her muscles felt like they were in pieces and they felt useless. " _Do it for the mother, you weakling"_ She kept telling it to herself, that way of encouragement. Her will to survive was strong, almost as the strength of the Ares and the burning power of Hephaestus' flames. She was now pushing herself. Her head felt like it was gonna collapse at any second and she could hear a millions of bells ringing in her mind. She didn't let any of that stop the power of her strong will, she is going to survive, nobody is going to get in her way, she values her life too much for it to be ended in such pitiful and poor fashion.

She was almost up. Few more centimeters and she did it. This simple gesture of standing up felt like a huge milestone to her. She's never been more proud of in her life than standing up in this second, she made it. The smale decorated her beautiful and beaten up face for the first time in a while and not even the loss of few teeth made it less stunning. Her joy couldn't be measured right now, she felt like she could conquer anything. Greece, Rome, Egypt, she felt like she ruled it all. Nobody could even dare to stand before the queen Persephone, the one who stood up.

Her moment of fantasy was interrupted, she stopped hearing the brute's celebrating and cheerfulness, she could only hear growling and deep breathing. " _He noticed me"_. Persephone didn't want to turn her head, but she managed to find courage and do it. Her suspicions were correct. The Man-Pig's eyes were closely focusing on her, filled with hate and disgust. He held the sword tightly in his fist and was saying something. Persephone couldn't figure out what he was saying, her hearing wasn't completely returned back to normal. But by the furious look on his face and his spit that she was bathing in, she deducted he was very angry and ready to strike again.

Eunor breathed as hard as his lungs would let him. That little bitch was still standing. How was that possible? He knew he shouldn't let Aeson hit her with the club, he was always sensitive when it comes to women. He didn't hit her hard enough, she was supposed to be fainted for at least few more hours, but there he saw her, standing, barely, but standing.

"I didn't think you'd be able to breathe normally after my comrade and I took care of you, but here you are, standing. Now I see why you're worth so much."

" _Why she's worth so much?"_ Persephone felt disgust and shivers running through her.

"To whom do you want to sell me? Who told you I'm worth anything?"  
Eunor smirked "No way I'm telling you, besides, there is no point in doing it, I'm gonna bring you as a prize anyways, you won't remember a thing"

"So why is telling me a problem then?" Persephone said while stroking her dirty and bloody hair.

"Are you trying to seduce me, weakling?" She could clearly see he was deeply offended, her current condition was ruining her man manipulation skills, there goes that plan.

"No, no, no. Ofcourse not, mister. Um I was just cleaning my hair. You see it got very dirty on the way here and um… I really care about the way I look." She hoped he'll fall for that bait, but she was doubting, it was too obvious.

"Heh. Women." Eunor sighed. "Always caring about the way they lo.." But then it hit him "Don't you try to get out of this situation now! I know you tried to use some kind of spell on me right now, your mother was Demeter, she and Aphrodite were close, that's one of her techniques she showed you. Am I correct?"

He managed to break her cover like the mirror. No one managed to deny her "Seductive charm", It was technique invented by the queen of charm herself, Aphrodite. It was foolproof. There was no denying it, as much as she hated to admit it, this was one very smart and witty opponent.

Persephone was rummaging through that brain of hers, but no plan popped up. She just stood there in silence, looking that ugly, disgusting Man-pig in the face. She hated his face. Oh how she wants to come near him right now and punch him until the Siziphus finishes his job of carrying stones. She wanted to see him bleed, suffer, she wanted to see him in pain, she wanted to see him in vain, she wanted to see him dead.

Eunor put his sword back on the belt that was on his back and got a hold of a wooden club he carried around his waist belt.

"Now, now little princess, It is time for you to go to sleep again, so you can lead me to riches and gold, ready?"

"No, please no!"

"It's too late! Good night!"

Eunor swung his giant club. It was all over for Persephone. She saw her life flash before her eyes, she and her mother going strolling, picking flowers, dancing, she relived her memories with best friends and boy she liked. She saw herself near the river under the shade of the olive tree just picking daisies and irises and enjoying the springtime, her favorite time of the year. She could remember every detail, the smell of air, the sound of birds, the color of water, the mother wolf on the other side of the river that was feeding her younglings. That memory always made her smile, she never felt so relaxed ever in her life.

" _Ah memories… Too bad I won't be alive to remember it again after this pig finishes me off"._ There was something missing. Where is the sound of the club hitting her? Where is that unbearable pain? Why isn't she bathing in dirt? Why is she still conscious? Her eyes were closed shut, for the sake of her not being able to see her horrible fate.

What is taking this man pig so long?

That question was burning inside of her like a raging fire she needed to see. On the contrast of that burning question, Persephone started to feel cold, her breaths were getting shorter and lungs felt like being impaled. Is it winter already?

When Persephone got courage to brave for everything she could see right now, she opened her eyes.

There was tall, light blue-white haired man holding onto the hand of the man pig with his own. Was he the source of this immense drop in temperature?

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Oh my hasn't anyone taught you it's rude to raise your hand when talking to ladies? I am sure wooden clubs are out of the question as well? Oh they haven't? Well do not worry, I, Lord Hades will teach you…"


	4. The Life And Death

Persephone was breathing in a sped up pace, lot's of precious oxygen was needed to support her heart's wild beat. Her eyes were as wide as to a kid getting past the candy store. Her beaten up body was shaking helplessly, not because of pain, but because of sudden rise in blood pressure.

It has only been few seconds, but it was more than enough time for her to get astonished by the beauty of a man that stood in front of her. As tempted as she was to clean her eyes from all the accumulated tears, blinking was out of the question now. She'd miss one prized second of Hades' face if she were to do it.

That stunning face. Pale, almost to the point where it could be called white, with strong defined jaw and thin lips. Silver, messy hair was like a frosting on an already astonishing cake. Few thick strands were falling over his eye, but somehow, it seemed as if they belonged there.

The eyes, they were as white as the winter itself, just looking at them caused her breaths to become steamy. He must have spent so much time in the darkness that his eyes lost their natural color, but strangely she couldn't figure the color that would have suited him better.

No matter how hard she tried to be judgemental, there was not a single flaw on his face. " _I know he's a god, but it's not possible for anyone to appear so dazzling. It's like he opposed the rules of nature itself"_

There was not a single wrinkle on his face, like his facial muscles hardly moved at all. No smiling wrinkles, forehead free of them too. Had he ever changed that facial expression?

And that blank look. Persephone couldn't read it, she never thought it would be that challenging to read such an empty, dead face. Maybe that was the problem. How can she search for anything if the well was empty. Maybe she needs to dig harder. Hopefully the well hasn't gone dry yet.

Hades was the only thing engraved in her field of vision. Her heart was beating in an undefined rhythm. It was beating hard at first, it's drumming could easily be heard with the smallest of difficulties Then it slowed the pace down, Hades' figure relaxed her, the tension was melting through her pores. Then it started racing again, continuing the never ending cycle.

The air felt like it was stripped from all the life where Hades was standing. All the warmth, the humidity, seemed to simply vanish, as if Hades scared them away. His presence caused the frost to overthrow the greek spring.

However, Persephone never felt this warm in her existence. It was like she was suffering from a vile illness, like her body was fighting hard to defend itself from something unknown. She understood why, the feelings she was experiencing were something strange to her.

"Did this scum hurt you, m'lady?" Hades asked calmly, focusing her with his foggy, bright eyes.

Persephone's paralysis suddenly vanished, his deep, dead voice was an antidote that healed her.

"N-no. I'm unharmed" Persephone

barely answered, she was picking her words as carefully as she could, like she was walking on the rope bridge, one wrong step and she'll be drowning.

"I am glad to hear that" Hades replied. His tone wasn't convincing, it left Persephone's stomach filled with strange feelings. " _Is he really concerned or is he just trying to act polite?"_

"Now that we've got that out of the way. Tell me your name, you disgusting waste of space!" Hades switched attention to Eunor, whipping his silver hair that reflected sunlight onto Persephone's eyes. Once relaxed and monotonous voice now became grave and kind of terrifying.

Eunor's face was extremely familiar, without a doubt Hades had seen him before. He saw him many times, fulfilling the requests of Hera, Athena, Apollo and many more. That so called soilder was placenik, lacked a single master, disgracful. Hades was kind of glad he hadn't knew his name, for he was not worthy of his memory.

"Lord Hades… I beg of you, please...let me go!" Eunor resisted helplessly.

"I asked you something!" Hades said through his teeth; Barely resisting the urge to kick him in the kneecap or maybe somewhere else.

"It's Theodor! Yes, yes, Theodor."

Eunor's tone got high pitched for a moment, Hades' presence made chills run through every bone in his body; literally and figuratively. Eunor was flailing helplessly, hoping his lying skills don't down now.

"Theodor? Well tell me, "Theodor", why were you about to hit this fair maiden with a club?"

Hades questioned Eunor

"Lord Hades" Persephone interrupted him "He's lying. He's name is not really Theodor."

She told as her bright orange eyes turned red and black pupils got golden tone to them. "He's a very good liar, indeed, but not good enough to trick me and my eyes"

Hades' jaw was on the ground. " _Is he really lying or is that girl speaking nonsense again?"_. Hades' grip on the brute's wrist got stronger.

"Is she correct? Are you that braindead to think you'll get away with lying to a god?" Hades' mocked him.

Eunor's heart skipped a beat. Never before had anyone been able to see through his lies. His whole life he practiced it, he could control his heartbeat, he could stop the sweat from bursting. No normal person could accuse him with such confidence, he hid the clues too well.

But somehow she did. That weak and dazed girl looked through his lies as if he was transparent. He finally realized why she was so valuable to his master.

"You're trying my patience" Hades threatened. Hades let go of his wrist just to grab his toga and raise him. "I advise you to quit stalling and submit!" Hades started shaking him to free himself of the frustration. And on the other hand, it was amusing.

Hades' shook him harder and harder. Eunor's stomach was turning. He attempted to fulfill his orders and spill the beans; reveal his intentions and true name, but he's being choked. He opened his mouth, but only helpless moans came out, words were stuck somewhere between his lungs and lips.

"Lord Hades! Let go of him! He's trying to say something!" Persephone begged. Hades heard, but he didn't listen. So little brought true joy to him, what gave her the right to lisiti him of such enjoyment.

"But, my fair maiden, he tried to hurt you. No matter what he says, he's not evading the inevitable punishment." Hades defended himself.

"Give him a chance, please. Every being, no matter how filthy or shifty it is; one must always be given a chance to defend themselves and reveal his true intentions." Said Persephone severely.

Hades went silent as his grip on Eunor got firm. His eyes were locked onto Persephone's now blood red ones. They kept staring at each other, not exchanging a single word or sound, deadly stares were enough to speak for themselves.

They both were frugal when it came to breathing, not so much when it came to heartbeat. Hades' lips got dry and look got more and more intimidating. He focused so much, his eyelids were almost touching.

" _Who is that woman? Who does she think she is talking to me like this?! And...why do her words strike me so much, I'll never see her in my life after we both go our separate ways. Why would her opinion affect me?!"_ Hades wondered, he searched for answers up and down through his brain, but there were none.

"Very well, as you desire." Hades submitted and landed Eunor gently. There was something strange about this woman. She looked so young for the age of gods, yet she had such high authority and convincing power. Why did he fulfill her requests? Why did he feel the need to please her? Why was his ice melting, Hades questioned as he saw the drops of water on the ground where once his ice was.

"Thank you, oh dear and generous, Persephone! I will tell you everything, just spare my life!" Eunor begged while being on his knees. In his moments of weakness Eunor seemed even more disgusting to Persephone than he was before.

"Stand up, please!" She demanded as she pushed his hands away from her as if he carried some kind of deadly disease.

But her burning question will be answered now "Tell me your intentions, man pig!" she demanded. Her sweet amber like eyes had sharp glow to them, the glow of determination. On the contrast to her confident expression, her body was about to fall apart any second.

Persephone's legs couldn't help her stand straight for much longer. Using the mother's eye enchanting spell and enormous amounts of yelling left her feeling even more drained than she was before, when she got hit in the head.

Her head was spinning, legs were shaking, stomach was turning, it felt like she lost the half of her blood. But, no, she mustn't sit now, the dirty man pig was about to explain everything, the urge to know the reason behind his actions was eating her out.

She mustn't fail now, she mustn't let such thing as dizziness and nausea stop her from receiving the information she desired.

Who is she trying to fool? She can't fight through the pain, her bruised body couldn't possibly emerge victorious in that fight. Still, she refused to believe this was her limit, she could stand for a bit more, couldn't she? Only few more seconds until the truth is spoken, then, she'd be free to drop to the ground, exhausted.

Few more seconds… those few seconds felt like days, years. She could hear the loud ringing in her skull, the sound that made her cringe. That irritating noise, will it ever stop? Eunor's lips were in motion, he was obviously saying something, but what? No words got to her brain, the ringing completely wiped them out. That cursed ringing, make it stop!

" _I must fight through…"_ she kept encouraging herself, even though, deep down, she knew, there was no way for her to stand high anymore, for even a flash. Why was she pushing herself so much? Who was she trying to prove herself to?

Mother? Persephone told her she wanted independance, if she could beat the vicious pain she was going through, she was ready live life as an adult.

To Herself? She must prove that she's grown, both mentally and physically, this pain was an ultimate test to her body, wasn't it.

Or maybe, to _Him?_ That man with soul imprisoned inside iceberg. The man with a look so fierce it crumbled mountains to dust, with voice that even the greatest of sirens couldn't compare to, with personality that made her heart want to break free and sit tight alongside his one filled with ice spikes… Was she trying to prove her worth to Hades?

There was no doubt, Hades mustn't see how weak she actually was. The reason for that was unknown to her. He was a god, a vicious and respected one indeed. Maybe that was the reason, she had an opportunity to show herself at the peak when near someone as influential and feared as he was. Or perhaps the reason was different.

It was defiantly something different, she was fully aware of that. No matter how much she tried finding excuses for her heart's actions, it was futile to resist. She was head over heels for him.

She faced the truth, making her revealed. As if she wiped the old mirror, being able to see herself as she was clearly.

Persephone continued giving into the truth, the biggest truth she needed to face right now was that she was weak. Weak and unable to continue to force herself for even a second more.

She fell on her weak knees, beaten by the light of truth. As her eyes got sealed away and her body hit the surface, she fell into the slumber, the one she might never awake from.

Hades stared at Persephone's lifeless flesh as it hit the ground, his eyes locked onto her as if glued.

The current situation was strange to him, never before has he been torn between something; The need to keep that girl away from harm was exceptional, but on the other hand, why should he care?

He's Hades, the god of the dead, being given that position because of his unnatural power and superb professionalism. The emotions he was lacking were the roots and support for his ability to do the job so well. But now, he could clearly see the bridge of his neutrality is about to fall and his soul beginning to thaw.

Is this what he's experiencing called emotions?

Eunor was trying to escape, but his body went completely numb. Who was that girl anyways and why was Hades so distracted by her? Eunor had faced Hades in the past and that encounter got printed into his memory with little to no chance of fading away.

His figure on the battlefield, the wicked sorcery he used, he heard some people call it "Arcane magic", all of that felt pale in comparison to the aura he was projecting.

The chill, the fog, the cold, he could still feel it in night as he went to sleep and that would be the first thing he smelled when he woke up in the morning. Hades presence then, literally, left him breathless, there was little to no chance of maintaining normal breathing pace if he was close to you.

But now, it was way different. The fog wasn't as dense as it had been before and air could be inhaled perfectly. Was this girl the reason Hades was starting to feel warmer?

Who cared anyways? He didn't at least. The god of the dead was distracted and this was the perfect chance for Eunor to sneak away.

His neck was still hurt from intense squeezing, but he could manage to sneak away easily. The Hades' shroud was also an amazing cover, even if not as intense as it once was, still it could deceive the eyes of unvary. Time could not be more ideal, he attempted to tiptoe away from the danger but…

"Don't you even think about making your escape, scum!" Hades interrupted him and raised the Scepter of the Raven, causing the ice pillar to imprison Eunor inside of it. His lover half of the body was completely shut in an icy cage, leaving him completely unable to make any sort of movement. His blood was starting to feel colder and the spine was reacting negatively to such harsh drop in temperature, his escape plan was plundered.

"I-I was a fool for underestimating you, oh great Hades. Please, help this fair maiden, I know you're dying to do it. Don't worry, now I'm certainly not going anywhere." Eunor told with honeyed words. Hades hadn't trusted that swine one bit, his intentions were surely malevolent, but he had the point, the girl needs help and he should at least attempt to do it. He was feeling particularly generous today, that is the only reason he helped this girl.

" _I feel nothing towards her. Even the unsympathetic, cold shouldered and downright cruel tyrant, such as myself has to show some compassion periodically. In no means she's concerning me"_ Hades kept convincing himself. Emotions are not welcome in his life, not now, nor ever.

Hades' legs were trembling as he was making first steps towards the Persephone's seemingly lifeless body. Considering the pressure, the gap of the few feet felt like the length of the infamous "Silk road". However, the journey of the million miles starts with a single step, and Hades was planning on crossing the entire span of that seemingly endless and impassable road.

" _Even if she had bitten dust, why should it strike me?"_ Hades continued with his now helpless convincing, even though all his ships are evidently going to sink, no way he'd give in without trying to fight off the raging and salty sea water; his emotions. The half of the "Silk road" is now behind his back, but the road seems somehow even longer. He had difficulties maintaining order his own body, as if emotions he got the taste of were the "forbidden fruit" that caused addiction and inevitable demise. That's why all of the gods, seemed insane in his eyes before, they were addicts; addicts of emotions.

His heart was drumming as loud as the war horn, it's like he could hear it's tiny squeaky voice telling him " _Go faster! Is this your idea of fast pace! Come on, you know I rarely get excited."_ The attempts to silence it backfired as the voice was louder and clearer as he was nearing the end of the road.

He has reached Persephone and gently moved the wavy auburn hair away from her face. She was laying there, dormant, making him fear for the worst. Death.

His were immediately disjointed, for he noticed the small strand of grass gently dancing to the music, that was her breaths. His needs of once rampaging heart were sated, leaving it silent and tired out, as if it was of saying " _Thank you"._

Persephone felt her hair being moved from her face and the dash of fresh air hitting her beaten up face again. The cool fingers that gently communicated with her forehead felt exhilarating, those bruises needed to have some ice put onto them anyways. Is she really being touched by him right now? The one who she is not worthy of? He's devoted his highly precious seconds just to make sure if she's in need of some assistance, which she was.

She carefully opened her eyelids and let the shy sunlight illuminate her sharp amber eyes, that were now also bathing in scarlet blood. The tall figure of a man was standing near her, the figure she was sure was Hades.

"Lord Hades...carry me...please, to the…" The words barely emerged from her lungs. Her mouth was filling with blood, leaving the bitter and salty feeling in her mouth, she hated the taste of blood.

Hades gently picked up Persephone, like she wanted. She was even more beautiful up close, in his arms. It felt like she belonged there, like he could carry her anywhere without hesitation. He carried many women in his life, but none of them made his body heat raise so high or lungs fight for breath so desperately.

"Fair Maiden! Where do you need to be carried to?" Hades asked in gravelly tone, determination speaking loud from his guts.

"Daisies" Persephone raised her arm helplessly pointing to the blooming field of white flowers. Hades understood the message, it was as clear to him, she demands to be carried onto the bed of daisies.

He carefully got her into his arms, as if she was the most fragile rose that's starting to loose her withered petals one by one and slowly carrying her to the field as if she was gonna detach any second.

Hades moved himself in leisurely fashion, lust he'd unintentionally harm the poor girl with the usual aggressive tone his feet were leaving. Hades' shoes left squeaky sound in contact with grass filled with dew.

"Here, m'lady." He carefully landed her onto the bed of daisies.

The soft on eye, cotton like, petals had gained the shining, pale yellow glow to them as Persephone was singing in shattered voice.

Hades couldn't comprehend the words to her chant, in language he had never heard before, wasn't Greek, Latin, nor Persian.

He could listen to her voice until his final breath, nothing could ruin the view and the feel itself. He hadn't notice the blood dripping from the edge of her lip, he saw rose petals. He hadn't noticed the sharp Rock buried in her flesh, he saw the smelted silver ingot. Nor he noticed the cockroaches crawling up her arms, he saw black pearls. Simply stunning.

Strangely, Hades felt his Arcane magic pool refill, it was cold, refreshing; the tune affected him as well.

" _She's using Arcane as well"_ he deducted.

" _That has to be the that's attracting me to her. We're using the Kind of Magic that is the same. I'm not a vessel to the emotions after all"_ Hades sighed relieved as if he dropped the considerably sized rock he'd been carried.

Released from stress, Hades felt as if he could reward himself with some entertainment. For him, nothing causes his blood to circulate as fast as one word… torture.

" _That man-pig…yess"_ Hades smirked, his eyes getting brighter, perfect, weak targets are the sweetest. Completely neglecting the fact the girl at her weakest was just at the reach of his fingertips, Hades marched firmly towards the road, where Eunor was frozen shut.

Persephone's body was rebuilding itself, the arcane magic closed up her wounds and recolored the black, plumb like bruises back to the original bright color of her skin. The blood was recreating itself, making up for all of it she coughed up and even creating some extra, returning the color back into and hiding the veins and freckles on her face. The missing tooth had grown back, perfectly fitting into the missing hole, like it had never been gouged out. The colors and shapes seemed more sharp than seconds before, those dots were animals after all. Mother's wonderous healing spell worked, will to live, fight back and energy is entering her body again.

But the air had changed, loosing the refreshing, mountain like feel to it. It had been replaced with stuffy, droughty and dry one...disgusting. Every breath left her lungs warmer and warmer, the sun steadily sneaked and raised her temperature, unleashing her from the frost she's been intoxicated with.

" _He's gone"_

Once she had a glimpse of the sweet cold Hades emitted, the warmth, like a poison, pierced her lungs and was raging uncontrollably. She must make it leave her body again, disgusting heat isn't welcome anymore.

" _Hades i have to see you again"_

" _The moment i heal, I'll haste to him"_

Her bruises were not being healed fast enough, but determination hadn't left her body. This won't be the last time she sees his white eyes again.

He might be too far away by the time she decides on getting up; the sooner she runs after him, less chance will there be for him to slip out of her fingerprints.

" _Oh no!Lord Hades! You've left your Scepter here!"_ Persephone called out as she noticed a stiff, tall staff near her feet. How can someone lack in responsibility so much?

Eunor's heart was pounding, sweat dripping from his forehead. He trembled, both from the cold and the fear, Hades was approaching. He was desperately floundering, trying to escape, disregarding the fact his lower half is imprisoned. He saw Hades' glimpse from the distance, easily recognizable, the cape, walking style, sharp glow in his eyes that he could see, even though his face was blurred by the distance.

" _There must be something I could do, but what?"_

"Ah, looks like you had decided to stick around after all"

Hades teased helpless Eunor, circling him like a vulture waiting for it's wounded prey to stop breathing.

"L-Lord Hades?"

Eunor begged desperate, completely forgetting pride and all the warrior's codes he's been taught through all of his years of now meaningless training.

"Please, please, don't do this to me… I promise I shall serve your army, I shall be the strongest warrior in your front lines, I'll dismember anyone who dares to lay their finger on you! Just please, let me live and you won't regret it!"

"Oh is that so?"  
Smile broke out on Hades' face. People begging for mercy, nothing feels more satisfying. His judgement was accurate, this so called warrior will bring him loads of entertainment.

"Please, tell me, why should I choose you?"

"What do you mean why? I'm the strongest warrior that ever existed in Greece! I'm Eunor of the Sparta! You will hear lots of songs and epics about my power in battle and bravery! Every woman desires me and every man desires to be like me! I'll be the strongest addition to your army!"

Eunor replied, almost instantaneously, relieved, Hades is considering letting him live.

"Ah I see."

Hades raised his eyebrow, skeptical.

"You know what pains me? It's that you, sorry excuse for a warrior, no, sorry excuse for a human being, has such high pride and admires itself so much! On what is your confidence based? I've seen rats having more courage!"

"No! No! No! You got it all wrong, mlord! I swear to the gods, I am the bravest human you'll ever see!" Eunor defended himself, making Hades even more frustrated.

"You're really starting to get on my nerves!"

Hades cut off Eunor in the middle of his thought.

"The fact that you're trying to prove the obvious facts wrong is the thing I hate about you humans the most! Not even the slightest clue of bravery is running in your veins, it's been pushed out by pride, lies, cowardness! If you're the human with the most courage, I will single handedly wipe the entire human race from this planet's existence!"

The sound of someone calling out for him had stopped his rampage.

"Lord Hades!"

It wasn't Eunor's disgusting and gruff voice, this one was appealing, enthusiastic, high pitched, yet still pleasant to listen to, woman's voice, it was _her._

Hades' eyes widened and got even shinier when he saw Persephone running towards him, healthy, all patched up and healed. No deep mud could stop her from sprinting like a fox towards him, her bare feet sometimes got stuck but she could always easily escape it. The wavy, pomegranate colored hair flew behind her and it's softness could be felt even only with the slightest of glance.

Hades' Spectre of the Raven was so too heavy for her to carry, the thorns it had were purging into her flesh and her hands were stuck, the cold of the staff was too much for her to handle. Under normal circumstances, she'd drop that wretched thing without even giving it a second thought, but right now, she felt the extraordinary wish to deliver it to Hades, no matter how painful it was. She must prove useful to him.

"Lord Hades! You have forgotten this!"

Persephone reached out to give the Sceptre back to it's original owner. It was now decorated the wild rivers of blood from Persephone's hands, the dirt and the powder she'd used in her healing ritual. Hades' jaw had almost hit the floor, the eyes got even bigger and the grip of his once clenched fists was relaxed.

It took him years to perfect the way of carrying the Sceptre, putting fingers in perfect position, avoiding all the thorns, the grip strong enough to withstand the mass it had and in the same time light enough for the hands not to be affected by cold as much. The fact someone carried it for even one step in that position, whilst running in deep mud and being beaten up recently was too much for his brain to comprehend at this moment, not mentioning that the person who carried it was a woman.

"Oh, thank you! Where has my mind run off to?" Hades said as he accepted the Scepter.

Embarrassment filled him up for the lack of responsibility shown.

" _What must be going through her head right now? She's probably wondering how can someone so forgetful become a god?"_

" _Why should I even care? Hades, don't lose your cool"_

Hades turned back to Eunor, his eyes getting back the old glow of amusement they had before.

"M'lady"  
He told Persephone. "What do you think I should do with this man?"

"Goddess of Spring and Nature! Please, spare my life! I will stand by your side and protect, both you, your mother and everyone you love! I will be the most loyal guard you had ever had!" Eunor's cries hadn't reached Persephone, Hades words were still ringing in her head.

" _What should i do to this man?"_

It just went on loop, she kept repeating it, each time after the previous flet grimmer and harder to say. The life of someone is in her hands, she can do anything she desires to him. But would it be necessarily the right thing to do?

She wants to see him suffer, bleed, wish for vengeance was eating her out. The man who treated her, his comrade and even the God of the Underworld like lower race than proceeding to beg for them in the time of need was making her deeply disgusted. She would rather break every bone in her body than seeing his face every day standing next to her.

Demeter's words echoed in her head, breaking the clouds that blinded her thought, like a sun ray. " _Just because someone left you wounded, making them a larger one wouldn't heal yours"_

What will she get from killing him off? Certainly, her need for vengeance would be sated, but as a Goddess, she's supposed to set a good example to every being, everyone to ever existed or is yet to exist. She would disappoint, not only her mother, but herself as well, murder is something she despised the most. Inhumane, disgusting way to solve problems indeed.

Persephone's amber eyes had met Hades' white as snow ones. The deep lifeless eyes were just awaiting her command, patiently he stood there, not making any movements until she says so, it was like she had a control of an entire army not just of one man.

Persephone slowly moved her thumb across her neck, Hades recieved the message perfectly.

" _Kill him slowly, make him suffer!"_

"As you wish!"

Hades said, obviously extremely satisfied and surprised with her answer.

"M'lady, you don't have to watch if you don't want to" offered Hades.

"Please, Hades, I asked you to do something, do it!" Persephone ordered, her eyes gaining the red color to them again, pupils becoming gold.

"No! Please I beg of you to reconsider!" Eunor cried out in vain "I will protect yo.."

"ENOUGH! Can't stand listening to a word you say!" Persephone replied disgusted.

"You don't plan on protecting anyone, you're just waiting for Hades to melt your ice so you can throw the powder you've been carrying with you! The powder that will leave you invisible, insuring your perfect escape!"

" _How..How did she know?"_ Eunor questioned himself.

"You can't lie to the Eyes of the Cougar, a gift from my beloved mother"

"Eyes of the Cougar, m'lady, what power do these eyes give to you? How did you awaken their power?" Hades curiously asked her.

"I will tell you some other time, but right now I'm still waiting for you to finish him off!" Persephone snapped at him.

"Very well!" Hades replied, disappointed, yet somehow, satisfied. Someone didn't give him exactly what he wanted every time, he loved that. Hades with one touch shattered the ice cage Eunor's been imprisoned, making him fall to the muddy surface.

"To ensure you can't escape" Hades said as he touched one of Eunor's strong legs. His blood and muscles were freezing, completely immobilizing him. The pain was unreal for him, never before had he been tortured as this. When his leg couldn't be frozen any further, with the light flick, Hades caused it to turn into crystal like dust, which has slowly after been bathing in the blood coming out from the spot where once the leg was.

" _I'm sorry, mother"_ Persephone apologized, even though it was too late to regret the decisions now.

"To ensure you won't be able to kick this fair maiden as savage ever again!" Hades touched his other leg. The pain had just became twice as vicious. The other leg, like the worst one has been turned into dust.

"What kind of monster are you?" Eunor desperately tried not to make his voice sound squeamish and cowardly, but the tears that were covering his face were revealing what he truly felt.

His face was starting to go numb as if he's been paralyzed by some kind of poison.

"Do not interrupt me as I'm having fun, just lay there and amuse me." Hades answered in breezy voice. He violently opened Eunor's mouth and grabbed his tongue, freezing it.

"Now you're unable to interupt me… Where was I? Ah yes. So you won't be able to lift the sword, the one with which you brutally murdered your comrade. Who's the monster now?"

Hades asked as the icicles came raining down upon Eunor's torso and arms.

" _I'm sorry, mother! I'm sorry mother! I killed a person, mother! I'm evil!"_ Persephone, with now her old eyes, was eating herself up.

" _You were right mother! Vengeance feels awful!_ _You were right! Oh gods, what made me do such a horrible thing?"_ Persephone questioned while bathing in tears.

"M'lady, why are you crying? He's dead, just like you wanted." Hades told her in his normal, cold tone he always had.

"I don't know what I was thinking! I'm such an evil person! I can't look at myself right now!" Persephone barely replied.

"Don't cry, you're more beautiful without all those tears ruining your perfect face" He told her.

"He's the one who's evil, he's the one who should be judged! Come now, I'll carry you back to your mother"

His words and sweet tone in which they have been presented have broken their stubborn mind, every word he said to her was like sacred. In normal circumstances she would never be think this deed as acceptable, but he...he changed her way of thinking, he relaxed her. Only reason she committed the foul sin was his gaze and the wish for him to notice her, to think of her as worthy, which now he does.

"Th-thank you, but I can't walk, my strength has run out." She replied back.

Hades immediately got a hold of her with his white, pale hands and got her close to him.

Persephone never felt so safe and so loved for all the years of her life. She never felt such affection, never from her mother nor anyone else in her life. Maybe this man could be the one to have the key to her heart, but even if he doesn't, right now she considers him one of the allies, the one who saved her.

Life and Death were now on the same side.


	5. Mother and Husband

The picture of her beloved husband, who was then but a mere stranger, tightly holding her in his strong arms had started going pale. The reality hit her over the head, leaving her with harsher headache than the wooden club had given her. The smell of marble had replaced the humidity of the field after the rain and the stiff uncomfortable chair had taken the place of Hades' touch.

She was back in the luxurious board room now, accompanied by rest of the gods, gathered for the reason she forgot.

The tension in the room was mixed with the atmosphere. The air was unpleasant to breathe, leaving Persephone's lungs filled with dust, anxiety and more discomforting sensations.

Gods were sitting accompanied in an uncomfortable silence, as if everyone was waiting for the other to initiate the debate, the trial or whichever the reason for gathering was.

Persephone was sitting in her usual chair, the one made exclusively for her, yet she felt out of place.

Her attention shifted from one face to another, the faces that shared similar expressions. Frowed eyebrows, puffy eyes, cheeks that turned red and trembling jaw, all of those features were continuously in her field of vision no matter which direction she was facing. It was almost boring to look at the same expression all the time. She lowered her head just to escape those scary stares.

She sealed her eyes, in hope of forbidding those stares from sneaking in her field of vision. Her eyes were safe from harm now. However, sight wasn't her only sense being attacked.

Her eardrums were bombarded with the sound of heavy breaths. The breaths of someone, massive, strong. A man, she deducted. A man who was extremely close to her, she could feel the warmth of his breaths stroking her neck, running shivers through her spine.

Persephone carefully turned her head in the direction of heavy breathing which was interrupting her flow of thoughts. It was the familiar figure, the one who was always seated next to her in such occasions. She knew it would be him but deeply down she hoped if just this time he was absent or maybe seated elsewhere at least.

It was Ares.

The God, with the hair darker than ink and long beard, as a tangled dry brush. The leather eye patch covered one of his ruby red eyes that were pulsing with hate. Corky large nose stood in the middle of the face, it looked extraordinarily manly on him, and it was obviously broken few times. He wasn't a particularly good looking god, but nevertheless she had respect for him, even more than for the half of the present in this room

His eyes were locked onto her, vein popped on his neck, she couldn't even imagine he could look that terrifying. She saw Ares in battle, torturing people, outraging and savaging cities, but never had she noticed such hatred boiling in his eyes. It was obvious to her that if Ares could, he would break every bone in her weak body, then toss her flesh to the vultures for them to feast on. Maybe something worse perhaps. Much worse.

"Don't look at me, scum." Ares said, grinding his teeths. His masculine jaw was trembling in anger, a god famous for his short temper was holding pretty solid, despite the situation.

Persephone's face lost even the slightest bit of color it possessed. She knew pretty well how sick and merciless Ares could get, even towards women. Only thing she could do now was to hide from his penetrating gaze and trying to forget that near her was seated a man that wanted to see her blood being spilled.

How did it come to this?

She always admired Ares. His strong will, dedication, perseverance, strength in battle… all the traits she lacked herself. She always maintained good terms with the god of war, in hope she would adopt just a trace of his courage. That's how she planned it in her head at least.

Persephone would always be the one helping in Ares conquests. He always had a hard time finding lots of soldiers, they couldn't keep up with Ares' fast tempo and thirst for battle. The second a peace treaty has been signed, he got involved in another conflict , never giving his men a chance to relax, sleep or eat sometimes.

Persephone, with her exquisite knowledge of herbs and medicine, prepared vast amounts of healing elixirs for the wounded and some drinks she made gave soldiers exceptional boost in energy, making sleep and food almost unnecessary. Ares loved her. Though she was never on the battle herself, her presence on the battlefield was greater even than his. Even the air started absorbing the aroma of Persephone's skin.

Battles were faster, with minimal loss and on top of that, more brutal, just to Ares' liking. Persephone made war even more appealing to him, which he thought was impossible. After that, he constantly praised her for her work, taking her out for a drink and sometimes even gave her one of his infamous hugs that were could easily be called strangles.

However, Persephone felt like she owned a world to Ares. Even if she mixed thousands and thousands of potion flasks she would still feel like it wasn't enough. Ares voted "yes" on her marriage.

The marriage between Hades and Persephone was highly controversial and not accepted by all the Gods. The marriage that disregarded the laws, the forbidden one, between life and death, the unthinkable.

One group of the gods was moved by the excessive bravery and the sheer amount of guts they possessed, asking for such an absurd request. Love indeed is a strange force.

On the other hand, other group had only the worse to say about the marriage. They were two forces that should have never made the slightest eye contact, a request for them to spend the entire life together was out of the question and downright insulting towards the universe and the golden throne. As if they were criminals, murderers, possessed by wicked forces and not just two lovers, that just happened to to fall for one another. In their eyes, their love was a crime, more serious than murder even.

Zeus, the Almighty, sick of all the buzz and arguments, had decided to put an end to it and gave The gods a chance to express their minds through vote. A vote of the Grey Flame.

Never will that day fade from her memory. Not only was it the most important day of her life, but also, she relived it countless number of time. There were a bigger odds she would forget her own name than that day.

"Brothers, sisters, children! I apologize for this out of the schedule meeting, but today's matter is out of the highest priority" solemnly announced Zeus, still not stripping his face of the dull decoration that was his smile.

The gods listened to the Almighty as if tranquilized, absorbing his every word, even though not even a trace of wisdom came out. His tone, body language and that pretentious smile made even the simplest of sentences beautiful if said by him. A word had less value if engraved in gold then if said by Zeus. His soothing voice, the charisma, stunned everyone as usual, Zeus confidently thought he had this vote secured in his favor.

"The reason we all gathered here is familiar to all. The marriage between Persephone and my beloved brother, Hades" he said, making a profound hand gesture, showing the accused as if they were guests and not convicts.

Persephone hid her face behind her thick auburn hair. She could feel the glares focusing her. Those scary, judgemental glares. They danced around her skin, spinning in her stomach, leaving her dizzy, nauseous, terrified.

"Lady Persephone, I beg of you to remove the lushious hair from your face and to look me in the eye" Zeus said in voice that was higher than normal, as if he was sucking up to her, she despised him even more when he did that.

Persephone lifted her hair slowly and carefully lifted her eye, as if she scanned the surroundings from life-threatening danger.

"There we go, honey, isn't it better now when we can look each other in the eye" said Zeus, almost as if mocking her. For Persephone, she would prefer to be raped by every single living Persian than to stare at his lifeless eyes for one more moment. The eyes so intimidating, even the color itself had fled from them, leaving them lifeless, white.

"Yes, I agree" Persephone replied, hiding her frustration through her teeth.

"Could you then, please explain to us: Why should we support the marriage between you and my brother?" Zeus asked, crossing his fingers.

"Well… I wasn't..um..expecting to speak.. Or was i? um... " Persephone's tongue danced behind her lips and she had trouble taming it. No words came out of her mouth no matter how hard she tried to speak. Everything was perfectly planned in her head, with complete sense and rationality, but from her mouth came only gibberish.

The hysteric laughter echoed in the room alongside some occasional comments on her inability to speak. The joy people felt when she was struggling had completely broken Persephone. Every atom of strength had left her body and she found it hard to keep the balance.

Those laughters! Make them stop! Persephone swiftly got grip on Hades's hand without her will, as if the hand had a brain of her own. But also, it was not only a meaningless reflex, it was a desperate call for aid, which Hades answered swiftly.

"Dear, colleagues, gods, divine beings!" proclaimed Hades, completely killing off the laughter and cooling the air in the room. "What is love? Can anybody give me a precise answer to it?" he asked.

"No, and you know why?" he continued "You can't because love is stupid! Love is unpredictable! Even for gods, it's hard to come by for answer what is a true love. Well.. I think that true love is when you finally, after seeing millions of human kingdoms fall and rise, find someone who is as much of a nuisance as you are. Someone who is willing to endure you, because they are fully aware they're the same. It really doesn't matter if the one likes women, men, animals, little children… if they're human, they die, therefore, their love is not important. But, us gods, we live forever. We should try our best to find love, because just like us, it's forever. Me and Persephone have found it. We're fully familiar that our love is extremely controversial and that some you might be deeply offended by our marriage, but all what we ask for is one chance. Thank you."

Hades sat solemnly in his chair after the speech that left all the gods with dead faces. The talk slowly started to happen again in the room, but now, comments were mainly about Hades' speech. He couldn't really catch if they were praising it or not, but he frankly he didn't care.

"Didn't know you could speak like this." Whispered Persephone, looking at the ground almost as if ashamed to look him in the eye.

"Heh, I've been preparing this day and night, with tons of problems. Writing about love cringes me too much" Hades stated. Persephone couldn't keep in the slight chuckle. She raised her head and looked at her husband's white as snow eyes. Even though they had even less color in them than Zeus' eyes, she loved them. Everytime she looked at them, she was bathing in warmth, feeling even more exquisite than before.

"Thank you brother for your, enlightening speech! Now, it's time for us to decide weather we accept your love or deny it." Zeus announced and softly clapped his hands. After the clap a shining, transparent gemstone, similar to broken glass appeared before the gods.

"I assume you all are familiar with the Vote of the Grey flame, but for mere formality i will ask Hephaestus, my son and the inventor of this ingenious voting method to explain it to us once again" said Zeus, returning to his seat.

Hephaestus pushed himself out of the chair and cleared his throat that was always full of char. "Dear Gods, the Vote of the Grey flame is the simplest, yet the most effective way of voting ever invented. Just get a hold of the gemstone in front of you and hold it tight, it will know your answer. When all the gemstones are activated, the flame in the center of this table will enlight. It's color will at first be grey, but depending on the answers it will change, to black or white. White for yes and black for no. This way we will keep the vote anonymous and fair, the flame cannot be deceived. Thanks for listening." Finished Hephaestus as he finished explaining the formalities.

"Thank, you dear son!" told Zeus "Now, gods, please, do as he says and get a hold of the stone in front of you. And of course not you, dear lovers, for this is our matter."

The gods swiftly grabbed cold gemstones in front of them, squeezing them as tight as they could, almost as if afraid their answer would somehow leak. Persephone covered her eyes, not wanting to see a second of this. Oh, god, the anticipation was eating her out. Her heart raced, palms started to get sweaty, as if her whole being just wanted give up. It was cold, as if no blood runnen through her skin, yet she was still sweating, cooling her even more.

"Lady Persephone, don't worry, I voted yes." whispered a rough voice besides her. The blood suddenly sprung through her being again, as if she was scorched.

"Lord..Ares? I...thanks..." she whispered so quietly, she could hardly hear herself, but somehow she was sure, he did.

Persephone felt as the time had stopped, as if thousands of years had passed. " _Come on just light up already, tell me that I can't be with a man I love! Tell me I need to wait little more, come on! I insist! Nothing good happens to me ever, so why start now?!"_ Persephone cursed, but in her position, it wouldn't be wise to hate on destiny, currently she is her last resort.

Suddenly, the warm sensation splashed her face and the smell of smoke tickled her nose drills, and the harsh light had blinded her eyes even though she had them closed. The flame has awakened.

The room was still silent, which struck Persephone as shocking. Where are the gasps? Where are the cheers? Which color are the flames? All of those could be answered if she only opened her eyes. But no, not yet.

The sound of broken glass and the frustrated scream echoed the room, followed by the sound of someone wearing high heels running off into the unknown direction, sobbing. However after that, the room still remained silent, as if everyone had just waited for her to see the result.

"Honey, open your eyes." quietly whispered Hades. To the sound of his words relaxed her muscles and slowed her heart down. She was ready now.

Persephone carefully opened her eyes, as if she was doing an awful sin. The tears ran through her cheeks and big smile appeared on her face as she saw the flames burn bright white.

Their love prevailed, marriage has been approved by the gods. She got to fulfill her dream of finding someone that will be by her side when she needed it the most. And above all, the gods had shown they're really supportive and that they trusted her. The friends she had at the Mount were genuine.

"Still dozing off aren't we, Persephone? Please do us an honor and be focused or perhaps we're asking for much? If not, then please tell us, what do you have to say in your defense about today's case." Zeus' harsh voice requested. Persephone swiftly switched her attention to Zeus. His request struck her as strange, rarely has it been asked of her to speak in similar occasions. Her talking was usually unnecessary, she always kept quiet, occasionally raising arm if necessary.

"Ah, that got your attention?" he continued

"Yes lord Zeus. My apologies for my lack of contribution." Persephone mumbled, her voice was breaking and hands were trembling in her lap. Her face had lost all of the color as she remembered: she was the one being put on trial.

"We're pleased you've decided to spare your precious time and join us." Zeus mocked, large smile covering his face revealing his shiny white teeth. "Tis a mere formality, but I'm still obliged to ask: Do you know why has this out of the schedule meeting been called?" Zeus asked impatiently.

Persephone was as if entangled, her whole body weighing her down, not being able to move a single muscle. As the fog in her mind lifted, she was again able to read what's been written in her memory.

"Melione" she uttered in her chin, so shyly and quietly as if she was scared to call out her daughter's name after the accident.

"Exactly" Zeus confirmed, his face turning from ironic to bitter, judgemental. His thick dark eyebrows came together and pale white eyes pierced her as if aiming for her soul. Intimidating was a gentle word to describe him in that moment. Persephone had became completely mute, as if she had forgotten how to speak. Her lips were trembling, eyes getting wetter and more red. She opened her mouth, but no words came out.

"Yes, she escaped" cold voice answered in her behalf "and it was our fault". It was Hades. He saved her yet again, saying completely the same sentence she had brewing in her mind. Luckily he had her back, as always. She found it amusing how after all these years she still hadn't learned how to stand up for herself. She hated herself because of it, this was the reason she was laying awake at night, occasionally bathing in tears. Her biggest desire was to release her weak soul of such flaw, making her finally an independant woman. Maybe she'll achieve that someday.

But not today.

"Pull yourself, Honey!" He whispered, consoling her "They can smell your fear." She knew her husband was speaking truth, but not even his soothing voice nor words of encouragement were enough for her to relax. In her entire life, she's never done anything so serious where she'd be put on the trial, where even her life was on the line.

However, she wasn't scared about her fate as much as she was worried for her daughter. Melione had escaped somewhere, all alone, stripped from the memories of her origin, name, true parents. She was somewhere on Earth, perfectly blended with billions of humans. An impossible task, even for an immortal entity.

"Brother, please, the question was addressed to your spouse, not you. It's inappropriate of you to speak without being given a word." Zeus warned Hades and continued to tap his thin fingers onto the table's surface, that now started to show some light cracks.

"Melione is my daughter also, I don't see the problem if I speak in my wife's behalf if our kid is in question." snapped Hades while trying to sound as polite as he possibly could. However, on the inside, he was burning with rage. Since Hades rarely experienced the sensations that are emotions, he had no time to practice keeping them in check. The anger was clearly painted on his face and left for all gods to see.

"You can't speak in her name, she is your wife but not even you can read her thoughts or know her answer! The question was for her, and her only! Is that clear, brother?" Zeus told gritting his teeth in disapprovement.

"Zeus, my love, the Sun and the Time itself will cease to exist before young Persephone starts talking. Your brother had done everyone a favor. Let him continue, for the sake of everyone!" the annoyed, high pitched voice requested.

Persephone turned swiftly to the sound of the voice, which obviously meant to provoke. Hera. She was a goddess with the hair coloured of tree bark, magnificent, put into the long french braid that went over her shoulder. Her eyes were so dark brown, they might as well be considered black. Her red, pillowy lips looked unnaturally soft, as if they were made to be the best kissing lips in the world. Persephone always wondered how must Zeus feel when having the privilege of being the one to kiss those perfect lips. In normal occasions she would feel jealous.

But sadly this was not a normal occasion and Hera looked disgusting when her true personality was showing, almost as disgusting as her husband. Hera's eyes were shining bright with anger, they seemed even darker than they actually were, as if that was possible.

"Hera, please, I don't like it when you act this way." Zeus grunted, the table beneath his fingers suffering even more damage than before "But this time I conquer. Hades, brother, you may speak" snorted Zeus, gifting his brother with one of his famous smiles.

"Thank you for granting me the opportunity to defend myself, lord" Hades said, calmly raised from his chair and honoured all the gods present with simple, yet cherishable eye contact. "My wife and I must apologize for the inconvenience we've brought upon you this day. Our daughter, Melione, had ran away from the Olympus and mixed herself with lower beings, humans. Me and Persephone take full responsibility for it" Hades stated confidently, calmly. "We also know that our lack of tendance was a major throwback on our behalf. Please accept our deepest regrets."

"I've had it! That's enough!" Demeter, Persephone's mother, snapped, her beautiful amber eyes turning red with rage.

" _Mother has awakened her Eyes of the Cougar… This is not a good sign"_ Persephone worried, biting her cheek , trying to remain calm. Demeter pushed herself out of the chair and barked "Lord Zeus, Your brother's words may sound good, but I assure you, he's not sincere, he only wants to manipulate you with sweet talk! Don't trust a word he says!" Demetre's words echoed the room, stunning all the present.

Gods exchanged worried looks between one another. The room was now filled with various noises that came from every corner of the room. It was hard to make up what was being spoken, something between the lines of:

"She's got the point this time"

And

"The woman is mad!"

Persephone was astonished. Mother's words danced around her brain, leaving her confused, dizzy, on the edge of throwing up. The figure she has always admired, the mother that she had always idealized turned out to be flawed. Flawed with hate towards her husband.

"Mother…" Persephone sobbed "Please I've never seen you like this, please calm down. You're my saint, please mother"

"I wish I could say the same, my daughter. You have changed severely after you've gone with that vile man! Your hair had became dark, just like your soul. Amber eyes had started turning grey. You're starting to lose yourself! You're becoming him!"

She absorbed her words the way thirsty desert plants suck up on water. Why has this foul secret been kept from her all this time? Has she really lost her personality?

"Maybe this is the way I want to be, mother. Maybe the only reason I behaved the way I did was because I had always been censored by you. Silenced. You have no idea!" said Persephone, surprising even herself with the amount of guts she shown.

"This is the exact reason I didn't want you to get married! You are becoming insolent! All I wanted was for you to be safe, in which I have obviously failed. If I had succeeded, we wouldn't have been here." Demeter sobbed, her cheeks being soaked in tears.

"Well then why did you tell me you supported our marriage?" snapped Persephone

"I LIED!" demeter barked out, stunning Persephone. Her idol was not only possessive, but also a liar.

"I voted against your marriage during the Vote or the Grey flame! And I told other gods to do the same, which obviously they hadn't done… traitors" demeter squeaked out.

"You are the true traitor, mother. You are the one that changed! You lied, you forbid me everything, you wanted to convince others to do the same, you disgraced and humiliated me and the man I love. How do you expect me to go back with you after this?"

Demeter aggressively stood up and kicked her chair. Then she reached out and grabbed the seed packet that was in her pocket, tossing them into the air. With the simplest gesture of her hand, green vines and weeds erased from the ground, squeezing Persephone's ankles and wrists.

"Lord Zeus! I thought all of us have dropped the weapons and trinkets on the entrance! What is the meaning of this?" violently asked Ares just to be shushed by Zeus.

"Don't you dare interfere. That applies to all of you" Zeus commanded, specifically focusing his brother.

" _He had planned this… that snake"_ Hades cursed for himself, but snake or not, he's the leader and he should be respected, for now. Also he was dying to see how much his wife has grown. She is definitely not the same scared girl that he found beaten up by soldiers. She had became a lot tougher now, but hiding behind the veil of shyness and anxiety, which has now lifted. Hades felt gratitude towards Demeter, no matter how mad she was or how much she despised him, Persephone was fighting for herself for the first time, defending her beloved one.

Luckily for Persephone, even though her arms and legs were entangled by various strong herbs, her fingers were free and moveable.

"Please, do not resist, my daughter! Don't do it! Please, accept me into your life again! I promise to purify you from the monster you had become!" desperately plead Demeter. Persephone struggled not to listen.

She raised her index and ring ring finger and recited a chant.

"These vines can't be controlled by your weak level of arcane magic! Sorry you're not advanced enough! Maybe I'll teach you how, once we're finally reunited!" cheered Demeter. Persephone couldn't recognize her mother anymore. The mad woman before her eyes couldn't possibly be the same one that gave birth to her and with which she picked flowers.

"Heh, my Etemestic Arcane magic might not be as developed. But Hades had shown me few tricks mother" Persephone stated, smirking confidently.

"What? You are going to use his foul magic!"

"Exactly!" Confirmed Persephone "Ivermestic Arcane!" spreading her fingers wide, freezing the plants that shackled her, tossing them on the ground completely stripped from their life. "Thank you, dear husband, for your wisdom."

"Dear sweetheart… Why did it have to come to this? If you only came with me! You're not ready to venture into the world by yourself, I knew it! And now look at what's happened to you!

"What's happened to me? Look at yourself mother! You swore never to awake your Eyes of the Cougar in battle ever again! Yet you're using them against your own daughter!" screamed Persephone

"It's because I had no choice! Please! Understand my position!" Demeter begged.

"There is nothing to understand, mother" said Persephone as fog started to shroud the room, making the temperature drop. "You lied to me, manipulated everyone, attacked the man i love And threatened my freedom. Within seconds, you lost all the respect I bared for you." With a word Persephone swiftly sliced with her hand through the air, throwing sharp icicles in her mother's direction.

Demeter parried with her own set of sharp oak branches "I can't believe you would actually do such a thing… to your own mother! I thought I raised you better than this!" Demeters eyes got drowned in scarlet blood. "I didn't want to hurt you, honey, sorry if i had given you that idea, but right now you're giving me no options"

Demeter tapped with a foot twice, suddenly the ground beneath Persephone was turned into a golden dense mass, in which she slowly sank. She tried moving her feet, but the more she did it, the faster it sucked her in.

"What is this, mother?" She cried out.

"Heh, It's honey. This will bring the old, sweet Persephone back." Demeter said "Oh and don't even try to freeze it, for your legs will be frozen with it as well. This technique was specifically made to counter the users of Ivermestic Arcane. See I told you! Etemestic is the best type of Arcane! Yet you still pushed me away! Please, Persephone, come with me, this is the last time I ask you this!"

"Mother… I will, I admit. You're superior to me. I… I will divorce from Hades, I will continue living with you until I grow old enough to find a real husband." Submitted Persephone, soaking her hands into the honey.

Demeter's eyes started filling with tears. "Yes, finally! You understand my position! I knew you'd make the right choice!"

"I am your daughter after all and you raised me well!" said Persephone as the fog surrounding her had lifted. "Hades, from now on, think of us as divorced! I never want to see you ever again! I thought you were the strongest, wisest and the best Arcane magic user there is! But obviously I was wrong, you're none of those things, my mother is! She is also compassionate, good hearted! I.. don't want to see you again, ever!" Persephone declared, not even complying him with a simple eye contact.

Hades lost his blank face, twice in a same day. The only woman he wanted had left him, all because of her mother.

"Honey, please I beg you to reconsider." Hades asked, in cracking voice.

"I have made my mind, don't speak with me." Persephone requested, re soaking her hands into the honey.

"Everything that I do from now on is for my own good and I will bare the consequences of the decisions I make from now on. WIth you or without you, I don't care. The only thing I really wanted was independence, not you! I looked at you as a mere shortcut, nothing more." she stated.

"You don't really think…"

"I told you to stop talking with me…" Persephone cutted him off "We're done."

"You heard her! Go back into your pits and your souls, you monster!" commanded Demeter, her face showing the vast amount of joy and her eyes becoming amber again.

"Exactly! But mother, please! Can you help me get out of this honey now?" requested Persephone and reached out her hand.

"Of course I can, dear!" Demeter ran towards her daughter, grabbing her soaked hand. While she pulled as hard as she could, she failed to notice what Persephone was doing with her other soaked hand.

Persephone gave her mother the hardest slap she could, with a hand that had frozen honey on it. Demeter's body flew across the room and smacked into the marble table that broke in half, shaking the room up a bit.

The honey slowly disappeared and Persephone was free again.

"How… dare you?!" Demeter screamed out, shaking the room even harder than when her body hit the wall. "Wha...how could you!" barely said Demeter, completely shocked.

"I used your mother's instincts and the fact that you're gullible into my advantage, mother… You learn a trick or two after you've been partner with someone for so long." Stated Persephone, looking at Hades with completely different expression now.

"Now I see that my daughter has been completely lost. You left me with no choice." Demeter closed her eyes and concentrated deeply.

"What are yo…" Persephone couldn't finish her sentence, the massive branch pierced her from behind. Persephone couldn't breathe, her lungs were impaled. She was coughing out blood and was flailing helplessly, trying to remove the branch from her stomach.

Hades stood there paralyzed, he didn't have strength to do anything, without weapon nor courage in his arsenal, he had no hope of saving her wife.

At the end all he could do was watch. Watch as she was flailing, begging for help…

Until she stopped moving at all.


End file.
